Home
Advanced Search Map Locator View Settings
Add Current Plant To List Edit Current Plant
Show all Photos

Butterflies My Plant Lists Nurseries Planting Guide Contact Calscape About Calscape
Tap map to see plants native to location
Order by Popularity Order by Common Name Order by Scientific Name Order by # of Butterflies Hosted
Show nursery cultivars Hide nursery cultivars
Show plants not in nurseries Hide plants not in nurseries
Grid view Text view
Loading....
Seaside Heliotrope
Heliotropium curassavicum
  
Edit

Detailed Map >


About Seaside Heliotrope (Heliotropium curassavicum) Heliotropium curassavicum is a species of heliotrope that is native to much of the Americas, from Canada to Argentina, and can be found on other continents as an introduced species. It is known by several common names, such as seaside heliotrope, salt heliotrope, monkey tail, quail plant and "Chinese parsley" (although this last name is also used for coriander). in Latin American Spanish it is known as cola de mico or cola de gama. It thrives in salty soils, such as beach sand and alkali flats, but is highly polymorphic with many ecological and geographical variants. This is a perennial herb which can take the form of a prostrate creeper along the ground to a somewhat erect shrub approaching 0. 5 m (1. 6 ft) in height. The stem and foliage are fleshy, with the leaves thick and oval or spade-shaped. The plentiful inflorescences are curled, coiling double rows of small bell-shaped flowers. Each flower is white with five rounded lobes and a purple or yellow throat. The fruit is a smooth nutlet.
Plant Description
Plant Type
Perennial herb

Max. Height
1.2 - 1.6 ft (0.37 - 0.49 m)

Form
Mounding

Growth Rate
Moderate

Flower Color
Blue, Lavender, White

Flowering Season
Spring
Spring
Summer
Fall
Winter


Native Status
Native

Natural Setting
Sun
Sun

Elevation ?
-232' - 7497'

Annual Precip. ?
2.3" - 57.8"

Summer Precip. ?
0.14" - 2.58"

Coldest Month ?
29.4° F - 61.4° F

Hottest Month ?
57.6° F - 90.6° F

Humidity ?
0.37 vpd - 48.82 vpd

Soil Description
Grows in many soil types, often in saline or alkaline soils.

Butterflies hosted ?

SHOW ALL >>
Lygropia octonalis Image
Eight-barred Lygropia Moth Lygropia octonalisLygropia octonalis
Udea rubigalis Image
Celery Leaftier Moth Udea rubigalisUdea rubigalis

Landscaping Information
Water Requirement ?
Moderate - High
Extremely Low
Very Low
Low
Moderate - High


Nursery Availability
Never or Almost Never Available

Nurseries
Acorn Cap Native Plant Nursery, Artemisia Nursery, Linda Vista Native Plants, Moosa Creek Nursery, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden - Grow Native Nursery, RECON Native Plants, S&S Seeds Inc, Stover Seeds

Other Names
Common Names
Monkey Tail, Quail Plant, Salt Heliotrope


Print Plant Sign Print Plant Label Edit

Sources include: Wikipedia. All text shown in the "About" section of these pages is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Plant observation data provided by the participants of the California Consortia of Herbaria, Sunset information provided by Jepson Flora Project. Propogation from seed information provided by the Santa Barbara Botanical Garden from "Seed Propagation of Native California Plants" by Dara E. Emery. Sources of plant photos include CalPhotos, Wikimedia Commons, and independent plant photographers who have agreed to share their images with Calscape. Other general sources of information include Calflora, CNPS Manual of Vegetation Online, Jepson Flora Project, Las Pilitas, Theodore Payne, Tree of Life, The Xerces Society, and information provided by CNPS volunteer editors, with special thanks to Don Rideout. Climate data used in creation of plant range maps is from PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University, using 30 year (1981-2010) annual "normals" at an 800 meter spatial resolution.

Links:   Jepson eFlora Taxon Page  CalPhotos  Wikipedia  Calflora


Sign in to your Calscape Account X




Once signed in, you'll be able to access any previously saved plant lists or create new ones.

Email Address
Password

Sign In