Botanical name: Heliotropium bacciferum    Family: Boraginaceae (Forget-me-not family)

African Heliotrope is a prostrate subshrub, common in deserts, growing in small gravel washes and in sands. Leaves are lanceshaped to linear-lanceshaped, 5-55 x 2-16 mm, flat or round at tip, hairy on both surfaces, margin curled, longer hairs stiff, up to 2 mm long. Inflorescences are reduced, up to 2 cm long, bearing close set flowers in one series. Flowers are white, about 2.5-3 mm long; tube shortly cylindrical, hairy outside, hairless within; petals overlapping, 0.7-0.8 mm long, oblong to nearly round, crenulate to wavy. Anthers 1-1.2 mm long, elongate. Style is shorter than stigma. Sepal-cup is persistent, 2-2.5 mm long, 5-parted into lanceshaped sepals, hairy outside; hairs often stiff. Fruit is spherical, usually hairy when young; nutlets 4, brown, margin winged, back rugulose. African Heliotrope is found from NE Africa to NW India. Flowering: December-April.

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The flower labeled African Heliotrope is ...