Lindsay B. is the author of today's entry:
Thank you to Wendy Cutler@Flickr for submitting today's photograph (original image | Botany Photo of the Day Flickr Pool)!
Well-known by the scientific name Tournefortia argentea, tree heliotrope was renamed several times in quick succession -- the currently accepted name seems to be Heliotropium foertherianum, a name published by Diane & Hilger in 2003 through a revision of the Boraginaceae.
Tree heliotrope (also known as velvet soldierbush or octopus bush) is native to coastal regions of the Indian Ocean: tropical Asia, Madagascar, and northern Australia. It can also be found as a native plant further east into the Pacific, on islands and atolls of Malesia, Micronesia and southeastern Polynesia. Growing in rocky or sandy soils, plants of Heliotropium foertherianum (PDF) are found only in a narrow ribbon of oceanside vegetation; it is therefore termed a "strand plant". It is a modern introduction to Hawaiian Islands, where it is commonly called kiden.
The small white flowers are borne in many-branched, silky clusters of coiled spikes near the ends of branches (hence the common name, octopus bush). The small green fruits, which look like small pointed peas, turn brown when mature and divide into four nutlets.
Octopus bush is certainly an appropriate name. What a fascinating plant and story. Thanks
What a cool plant and a stunning photograph. Madagascar is a gold mine of interesting plants, beginning, of course, with the most beautiful of all palms, Bismarckia nobilis.
The plant world never ceases to amaze me! The only other plant in this species I know is the regular old heliotrope, and these two plants are like chalk and cheese. I guess the small floret we see in this picture is quite similar. Thanks for this photo and those you put daily, I really look forward to them.
Very attractive tree/bush -- the general form of it, and all the details of leaves, flowers, and fruits (as shown in the photos at the last link above).
I very much enjoy seeing photos of unusual plants that I would probably never come across in real life (well, unusual if you live far from where they're found). Thank you.
I am surprised (and not a little disappointed)to find here the same thing which frustrates me so often elsewhere in reading botanical descriptions. Where is any mention of scent? With a common name like Heliotrope it seems to call for comment- if only to say it has none...
Thank you Wendy, an excellent pic of a fascinating plant.
followed the link above....... wendy, the fragrance must be 'nice' as it is used to cover corpses for 'masking', many, many uses and tradional stories.... lovely specimen.....
Holy Moly! This thing is in the same family the sweet little alpine forget-me-nots I know and love? Evolution is truly amazing.
Thank-you katemarie. I guess 'nice' is as good as it gets with the limited vocabulary of scent. Nice to know it has some.
I'd love to be able to describe the scent on some of these plants (and I'm sure Lindsay would as well), but that's one of the disadvantages of writing about photographs of plants from around the world. No personal interaction with the plant tends to make a different style of write-up.
When this appeared back in November I knew I recognized it but I couldn't figure out why.
Now that the El Nino rains have started and I'm cooped up indoors I started reviewing the photos from my Oct 08 Hawaii trip and found this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ericinsf/4284793401/
It really is a unique and handsome shrub.