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Heliotropium curassavicum (Salt heliotrope)
Northington, David K.

Heliotropium curassavicum L.

Salt heliotrope, Seaside heliotrope, Quail plant, Cola de mico

Boraginaceae (Borage Family)

USDA Symbol: HECU3

USDA Native Status: Native to U.S.

A fleshy, bluish-green, smooth plant with leafy stems mostly lying on ground, usually with paired coils of small, white or purplish-tinged flowers.

This plant is also found in Mexico and South America. In some parts of the West this species is called Quail Plant after the birds that feed on its fruit. The Spanish name, Cola de Mico, meaning monkey tail, describes the coiled flower cluster.

 

From the Image Gallery

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Annual
Habit: Herb
Leaf: Gray-Green
Flower: Flowers 1/4 inch
Fruit:
Size Class: 0-1 ft.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: White
Bloom Time: Mar , Apr , May , Jun , Jul , Aug , Sep , Oct , Nov

Distribution

USA: AL , AR , AZ , CA , CO , DE , FL , GA , HI , ID , IL , KS , LA , MD , ME , MO , MS , MT , NC , ND , NE , NJ , NM , NV , NY , OK , OR , PA , SC , SD , TX , UT , VA , WA , WY
Canada: AB , SK
Native Distribution: Western United States east to Great Plains and across southern United States.
Native Habitat: Stream/river banks, Near lakes or ponds, Dunes
USDA Native Status: L48(N), HI(N), PR(N), VI(N), CAN(N)

Growing Conditions

Water Use: Medium
Light Requirement: Sun
Soil Moisture: Dry
CaCO3 Tolerance: None
Soil Description: Sandy, Gravelly

Benefit

Use Ornamental: Rock gardens, Rocky hillside, Desert landscape
Conspicuous Flowers: yes

Value to Beneficial Insects

Special Value to Native Bees

This information was provided by the Pollinator Program at The Xerces Society for Invertebrate Conservation.

Find Seed or Plants

Find seed sources for this species at the Native Seed Network.

From the National Organizations Directory

According to the species list provided by Affiliate Organizations, this plant is either on display or available from the following:

Santa Barbara Botanic Garden - Santa Barbara, CA
National Butterfly Center - Mission, TX
Native Seed Network - Corvallis, OR

Bibliography

Bibref 765 - McMillen's Texas Gardening: Wildflowers (1998) Howard, D.
Bibref 328 - Wildflowers of Texas (2003) Ajilvsgi, Geyata.

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Recommended Species Lists

Find native plant species by state. Each list contains commercially available species suitable for gardens and planned landscapes. Once you have selected a collection, you can browse the collection or search within it using the combination search.

View Recommended Species page

Additional resources

USDA: Find Heliotropium curassavicum in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Heliotropium curassavicum in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Heliotropium curassavicum

Metadata

Record Modified: 2012-09-29
Research By: TWC Staff

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