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

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

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

Heliotropium bovei, Heliotrope, Turnsole, עוקץ-עקרב אפור


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.

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