European heliotrope

Description:

This heliotrope is an herbaceous annual branched flowering plant with oval to elliptical stalked leaves. It grows up to some 40 cm, and produces tiny white flowers with yellow eye - the flowers are without scent, and some 3mm across. They are borne in interestingly shaped, one-sided, forked and spiralled spikes.

Habitat:

This heliotrope is native to Palearctic, and is widespread, and found in fallow and waste ground and roadside. I noticed it this summer for the time (and had some trouble identifying it), in our unusually green garden, thanks to long rainy season this spring. The garden is a Mediterranean one, constructed on terraces in urban area, and covered by some Mediterranean trees and wild vegetation. During the summer, it is normally very dry, as we do not water it in summer, and most of vegetation rely on rains only; consequently, there are only very few hardy and resistant flowers we can observe there during summer. As said, this summer was an exception.

Notes:

The entire plant is said to be toxic.