Blue heliotrope
Heliotropium indicum

Family: Boraginaceae

What it is like

An erect annual herb. It grows 100 cm high and spreads 80 cm wide. The leaves are opposite or alternate. They are hairy and oval. They have obvious veins. The flowers are small and pale violet. They appear on one side of a curled spike at the ends of branches. The curved spike straightens as the flowers open. The fruit are small and composed of two nuts.

Used in medicine. There are about 250 Heliotropium species. The leaves are boiled to increase a mother's milk supply.

Where it is found

A tropical plant. It grows in wet grassland savannah. It grows on hills, river banks and open waste places between 0–700 m altitude in China. In Zimbabwe it grows up to 1,100 m above sea level. It suits hardiness zones 10-12. In Yunnan.

Countries/locations it is found in

Africa, Amazon, Argentina, Asia, Australia, Benin, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, East Africa, East Timor, Guiana, Guianas, Guinea, Guinée, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, India, Indochina, Indonesia, Japan (Ryukyu Islands), Laos, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nigeria, North America, Pacific Islands, Paraguay, Sao Tome and Principe, SE Asia, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Southern Africa, South America, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Taiwan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, USA, Venezuela, Vietnam, West Africa, West Indies, Zambia, Zimbabwe

How it is used for food

Caution. It contains alkaloids. The leaves are eaten as a vegetable. They are fried.

Edible parts

Medicine, leaves

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Da wei yao, Hathi-sura, Hatisur, Indian turnsole, Isi-udele, Morai de flor larga, Ogbe akuko, Sin-hna-maung, Sin-let-maung, Suyouxo, Wild clary, Yah-nguang-chang

Synonyms

Heliophytum indicum (L.) DC.; Tiaridium indicum (L.) Lehm.;