Images
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Morphology
- Stem
- Erect, usually branched from base. Plants appressed-strigose.
- Leaves
- Alternate, simple, not succulent; blade lanceolate to elliptic or lanceolate-oblong, 2/5 to 1.5 inch long, 1/5 to 3/5 inch wide, margins entire, tip obtuse to acute.
- Inflorescence
- Scorpioid cymes, terminal.
- Flower
- Sepals 5, united basally, calyx .2 to .28 inch, lobes narrowly lanceolate; corolla white, salverform to funnelform, limb 1/3 to 4/5 inch wide, lobes 5, spreading; stamens 5, included; style 1, arising from top of ovary, included, undivided.
- Fruit
- Schizocarps of four 1-seeded nutlets; nutlets 1/10 to 1/8 inch, appressed-hirsute.
Ecology
- Habitat
- Sand prairie, sandsage prairie, and sandy mixed-grass prairie.
- Distribution
- West 2/3 of Kansas
Practical Information
- Uses
- The Navajo used the seeds for food.
Additional Notes
Comments
Heliotropium, sun and turn, alluding to the belief that flowering plants turned toward the sun and convolvulaceum, for the genus Convolvulus, for the resemblance of the flowers.
Quick Facts
- Plant Type
- Wildflower
- Family
- Boraginaceae - Borage Family
- Life Span
- Annual
- Height
- 3-10 inches
- Origin
- Native
- Last Updated
- 2014-11-25
Color Groups
White, Green & Greenish White Wildflowers
Flowering Period
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Blooms: July, August