| 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.
|