Heliotropium steudneri Vatke

First published in Oesterr. Bot. Z. 25: 167 (1875)
This species is accepted
The native range of this species is Eritrea to S. Africa, S. Arabian Peninsula. It is a subshrub or shrub and grows primarily in the desert or dry shrubland biome.

Descriptions

Extinction risk predictions for the world's flowering plants to support their conservation (2024). Bachman, S.P., Brown, M.J.M., Leão, T.C.C., Lughadha, E.N., Walker, B.E. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nph.19592

Conservation
Predicted extinction risk: not threatened. Confidence: confident
[AERP]

Boraginaceae, E. S. Martins (Trichodesma by R. K. Brummit). Flora Zambesiaca 7:4. 1990

Morphology General Habit
Erect or procumbent perennial herb 60–90 cm. high, woody to the base, sometimes with a thick rootstock; stems and branches ± densely clothed with short appressed hairs with a few longer spreading ones.
Morphology Leaves
Leaves alternate, sessile or with petiole up to 6 mm. long; lamina 20–60(80) x 4–15 mm., lanceolate, pubescent to rough above, pubescent to subglabrous below, acute to obtuse at apex, cuneate at base and sometimes decurrent on the petiole, margins slightly revolute and sometimes undulate to crisp and with 3–5(6) secondary nerves on each side of the midrib.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Cymes up to 12(18) cm. long when full expanded, single or in pairs, terminal.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers
Flowers sessile or subsessile.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx 2.5–3.5(4.5) mm. long, hairy outside, hairy to glabrous inside; lobes narrowly triangular to linear, obtuse, stellate-spreading after the nutlets are shed.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla quite white or with yellow throat; tube 3.5–5.5 mm. long, appressed hairy outside, glabrous inside; lobes 1.3–2.0 x 1.1–1.8 mm. oblong to subquadrate, obtuse to truncate, usually with very undulate margins, unequal, spreading.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens
Stamens inserted at the middle of the corolla tube; anthers 1.4–1.8 mm. long, oblong, apiculate, glabrous, often glaucous, subsessile.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Ovary
Ovary ovoid-conical, glabrous.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Pistil
Style 1.0–1.5 mm. long, terete, glabrous; stigmatic ring 0.5–0.7 mm. in diam.; sterile appendix 0.7–1.0 mm. long, as broad at the base as the stigmatic ring, papillose.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Fruits 3–4 mm. long, coarsely obpyrifonn and depressed between the pairs of nutlets or more often strongly asymmetrical by abortion of 1–3 seeds, smooth, glabrous; nutlets connate in pairs, each pair emarginate at apex.
[FZ]

Boraginaceae, B. Verdcourt. Flora of Tropical East Africa. 1991

Morphology General Habit
Perennial ± erect or spreading herb, sometimes subshrubby, 0.15–1 m. tall; stems branched, usually distinctly woody below, several from a woody rootstock, densely ± persistently hairy with spreading and short ± adpressed white hairs, or all adpressed; lower stems with ± glabrous fissured epidermis.
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-blades narrowly elliptic to elliptic- lanceolate or oblong, 0.7–9(–12.5) cm. long, 0.4–2.5(–3.2) cm. wide, ± acute at the apex, cuneate at the base, often obscurely crenulate and sometimes distinctly wrinkled, frequently distinctly bullate above with venation impressed, sparsely to very densely covered with long and short white hairs above and mainly on raised nerves beneath with rest of lower surface with only much shorter hairs or ± granular; petiole mostly short (to ± 1.2 cm.), only about 1/10 the length of the lamina or even obsolete.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Cymes mostly long and simple but often 2–3-branched, very short and scorpioid at first, soon extending to 5–20(–37) cm. long, the peduncle 1.5–7 cm. long, the axes with long and short hairs; flowers sessile, often foul-smelling.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx very variable, 2.5–4.5(–5.5) mm. long, densely pubescent, lobed ± to the base, the lobes linear-lanceolate, 0.5 mm. wide, tapering.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla white or creamy yellow with yellow to deep olive centre; tube narrowly funnel-shaped above and pubescent, narrower and glabrous at the base, 4–5.5 mm. long; lobes obovate-oblong or oblong, 2–3 mm. long, 1.5–1.8 mm. wide, rounded at apex, strongly reticulate veined.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Androecium Stamens Anthers
Anthers variably placed in upper middle part of the tube or even below the middle but tips not exserted.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Style (0.5–)0.6–2 mm. long; stigma conical with narrowed tip, 0.8–1.8 mm. long, papillate with short stiff hairs, often shortly bilobed at the tip, each lobe again shortly bifid.
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Nutlets 2, somewhat flanged where they join and with an asymmetrical shallow narrow groove from apex to base and often lateral elliptic depressions on the junction. Fruit depressed ovoid, 2.5–3 mm. tall, 3.5 mm. wide, glabrous, slightly rugulose.
[FTEA]

M. Thulin et al. Flora of Somalia, Vol. 1-4 [updated 2008] https://plants.jstor.org/collection/FLOS

Morphology General Habit
Herb, subshrub or shrublet, 0.1–1 m tall, ± densely pubescent to hispid with spreading to appressed hairs, sometimes also with glandular hairs
Morphology Leaves
Leaf-blades narrowly elliptic to lanceolate or ovate, 0.5–9(–12.5) x 0.2–2.5(–4) cm, attenuate or cuneate to truncate or slightly cordate at the base, ± acute to obtuse at the apex, often ± crenulate or wrinkled, or with venation impressed above; petiole up to 1(–3) cm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Inflorescences
Flowers foul-smelling, sessile in simple or branched c. 2–20 cm long cymes; peduncle 1–7(–15) cm long; bracts absent
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Calyx
Calyx ± densely pubescent to hispid; lobes linear-lanceolate, (1–) 1.5 – 4.5 (–5.5) mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Corolla
Corolla white or cream, often with yellowish centre; tube (2–)3–5.5 mm long, pubescent outside; lobes 1–3 x 1–2.5 mm
Morphology Reproductive morphology Flowers Gynoecium Style
Style (0.5–)0.6–2 mm long; stigmatic head narrowly conical, 0.8–1.8 mm long
Morphology Reproductive morphology Fruits
Nutlets 2, c. 2–3 x 2–3.5 mm, often slightly 2-lobed, smooth to rugose.
Distribution
N1–3; C1, 2; S1–3 widespread in eastern and southern tropical Africa and Yemen
Ecology
Altitude range 10–1680 m.
Vernacular
Garoweri (Somali)
Note
H. steudneri is taken here in a wide sense. Particularly in northern Somalia the species is exceedingly variable
[FSOM]

Sources

  • Angiosperm Extinction Risk Predictions v1

    • Angiosperm Threat Predictions
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
  • Flora Zambesiaca

    • Flora Zambesiaca
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
  • Flora of Somalia

    • Flora of Somalia
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
  • Flora of Tropical East Africa

    • Flora of Tropical East Africa
    • http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0
  • Herbarium Catalogue Specimens

    • 'The Herbarium Catalogue, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the Internet http://www.kew.org/herbcat [accessed on Day Month Year]'. Please enter the date on which you consulted the system.
    • Digital Image © Board of Trustees, RBG Kew http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
  • Kew Backbone Distributions

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
  • Kew Names and Taxonomic Backbone

    • The International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants 2024. Published on the Internet at http://www.ipni.org and https://powo.science.kew.org/
    • © Copyright 2023 International Plant Names Index and World Checklist of Vascular Plants. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0
  • Kew Science Photographs

    • Copyright applied to individual images