What is heliotropium?
Heliotropium is a genus of more than 200 types of low, flowering shrubs, originally in the warm climate of America. Some types of heliotropium , especially h. Arborescens , are grown in flower gardens for their sweetly fragrant, usually purple or purple flowers. The English name of the family, as well as its most commonly refined species, is Heliotrope. When the species is wild, the species can be found in open, arid shrubbery. Approximately 250 members of this genus are usually shrubs or short woody plants that carry the muscles of small fragrant flowers. They are usually considered annuals, but can survive as short -term perennials in climate with mild winters. Heliotropium plants have furry leaves with coarse surface.
When they cultivated for their flowers, the types of heliotropium USAUALLY grown as years. The most commonly refined species is h. Arborescens . Plants are short and compact and reach about 2 feet (61 cm) in their highestH, with a diameter of 1 foot (30 cm). Very small flowers, long awarded for their aroma, grow in rounded bundles, which can be quite large. Although they are very sensitive to frost and cold weather, the plants flourish in containers and can be brought inside the winter.
Modern varieties of the type h. Arborescens , commonly called heliotropy, include purple "naval", white flowering "white lady" and dwarf "mini marine". These varieties sometimes appear in window boxes and window sills, thanks to their tolerance to grow in containers. Outside they can be mixed with other garden flowers or appear in the butterfly garden because they attract butterflies. Like other species of the genus, h.arborescens prefers full sun and slight watering.
Heliotropy were brought to Europe from Peru in the 18th century, where they spread along the European continent. Thomas Jefferson grew up in theirGarden with seeds obtained from France. The flowers were also valued by Victorian gardeners in England during the second half of the 19th century.
The name of the genus reflects the fact that the plant tends to monitor the path of the sun, because the Greek elements heliotropium mean "sun" and "rotation". The name of the cherry cake was applied due to the sweet scent of heliotropy flowers, which was also compared to another sweet fruit or vanilla. Another name for the race, décoli, entered English from the French translation of the Greek word Heliotrope.