Flora of Israel: Heliotropium bovei

Heliotropium bovei, Heliotrope, Turnsole,
Hebrew: עוקץ-עקרב אפור, Arabic: رقيب الشمس الثوري

Scientific name:   Heliotropium bovei Boiss.
Common name:   Heliotrope, Turnsole
Hebrew name:   עוקץ-עקרב אפור
Arabic name:   رقيب الشمس الثوري
Plant Family:   Boraginaceae, זיפניים


Life form:   Therophyte, annual
Stems:   10-50 cm high, branched from base, greyish, indument whitish-villose
Leaves:   Alternate, entire, smooth
Inflorescence:   Terminal or lateral, rarely branched; cymes elongate, up to 35 cm, with 10-100 flowers
Flowers:   Calyx lanceolate-oblong; corolla shaped like a funnel; tube 2-4mm; lobes 1-2.5mmlong. 0.5-2,5 broad, ovate-triangular, moderately acute; White
Fruits / pods:   Nutlets ellipsoide, rugose, sparsely pilose.
Flowering Period:   April, May, June, July, August, September
Habitat:   Cultivated areas (agricultural weed), Disturbed habitats
Distribution:   Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Deserts and extreme deserts, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon
Chorotype:   Mediterranean
Summer shedding:   Ephemeral


Derivation of the botanical name:

Heliotropium, Greek helios, sun; trope, turning; meaning sun-turning, referring to the turning of flowers toward the sun.

bovei, named for Nicolas Bové (1812 – 1841).
The Hebrew name: עוקץ-עקרב, oketz -akrav, scorpion-sting; inflorescence with small flowers somewhat resembling a scorpion sting.

  • The standard author abbreviation Boiss. is used to indicate Pierre Edmond Boissier (1810 – 1885),a Swiss botanist, explorer and mathematician.