Heliotropium curassavicum (Salt Heliotrope)

Native to most of North and South America, Heliotropium curassavicum (Salt Heliotrope) is a perennial plant in its native habitat but is usually grown as an annual in colder climates. It is a sprawling plant with much-branched stems and fleshy, lance-shaped, bluish-green leaves that are thinly covered with a whitish powder. Tiny white flowers with yellow throats are produced along a gradually uncoiling stalk from spring to fall. Often paired, they turn purple as they age. There are between two and four clusters per stem. Salt Heliotrope is a butterfly magnet and a variety of butterflies regularly visit the flowers. It is also especially valuable to native bees. Each flower produces a fruit that separates into 4 nutlets. The seeds are favored by birds. Salt Heliotrope spreads by shoots arising from the wide-spreading roots and by self-seeding. While used as an ornamental, it is also used as a medicinal herb. Its dried roots are ground into a powder and applied to sores and wounds. The ashes of the plant are used as a salt substitute. A great candidate for rock gardens and coastal landscapes.

• Grows up to 12-18 in. tall (30-45 cm). Heliotropium curassavicum spreads by seeds and vegetatively from adventitious root buds.
• Performs best in full sun in dry, sandy, gravelly, slightly alkaline soils. Highly drought tolerant, it tolerates saline soils and waterlogged conditions.
• Perfect addition to coastal gardens or rock gardens.
• No serious pest or disease issues.
• Regarded as an aggressive weed in disturbed areas along the Mediterranean Basin and the Nile Delta, where it is regarded as a serious ecological and agricultural problem.
• Given the toxic nature of Salt Heliotrope, ingestion is not advised.
• Toxic to horses.
• Native to the Americas, where it can be found from Canada to Argentina.