Description
Other Taxonomic Groupings- Our variety (eastern United States) is H. c.var. curassavicum (Gleason and Cronquist 1991).
Potentially Misidentified Species - Heliotropium europaeum is an occasional garden escape and ballast introduction in our area. Heliotropium indicum is a pan-tropical upland weed (Brown and Brown 1984; Fernald 1950).
Taxonomy
| Kingdom | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Genus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plantae | Magnoliophyta | Magnoliopsida | Lamiales | Boraginaceae | Heliotropium |
Synonyms
Invasion History
Chesapeake Bay Status
| First Record | Population | Range | Introduction | Residency | Source Region | Native Region | Vectors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1864 | Established | Stable | Cryptogenic | Regular Resident | South America | South America | Shipping(Dry Ballast) |
History of Spread
Heliotropium curasavicum var. curassavicum (Seaside Heliotrope) was first described from specimens from Curacao by Linnaeus (Fernald 1950). It is native to tropical America, and has variously been considered native (Fernald 1950) or introduced (Gleason 1963; Gleason and Cronquist 1991) in the southeast United States. Heliotropium curasavicum var. obovatum is considered native to the interior western United States by Gleason and Cronquist (1991). We consider H. c. var. curassavicum to be cryptogenic in temperate North America.
The first record we've come across for North America is for Charlestown SC: 'grows in soils affected by salt water on the shores of Charlestown Harbor' (Elliott 1824). It was not reported for the Carolinas by Walter (1788). Chapman (1860) reported the range of the species as 'saline marshes, Florida to North Carolina'. It was reported growing on the 'shores of Chincoteague Bay. Doubtless indigenous' (Canby 1864). Smith (1867) found it growing on ballast along the Delaware River near Philadelphia, while Tatnall (1946) found H. curassavicum on the shores of Delaware Bay. Fernald (1950) gave the range of H. c. var. curassavicum as 'De. southw., saline soils, s. Ill. southw. and westw., ballast and waste places near the coast; locally northw. to Me' (Robinson and Fernald 1908). 'Fla. to N. M. and Mex. into Del. and casually on ballast northw.' (Fernald 1950).
In the Chesapeake Bay region, H. curassavicum has been found on the shores of Chincoteague Bay (Canby 1864), and elsewhere on the Atlantic coastal bays to the south (Harvill et al. 1992). Hill (1986) noted it as occurring only on VA portions of Chincoteague Bay. Reed (1964) found this plant on ore piles in Canton MD, adjacent to Baltimore Harbor.
History References- Canby 1864; Elliott 1824; Chapman 1860; Fernald 1950; Harvill et al. 1992; Gleason 1963; Gleason and Cronquist 1991; Hill 1986; Reed 1964; Robinson and Fernald 1908; Smith 1867; Tatnall 1946; Walter 1788
Invasion Comments
Ecology
Environmental Tolerances
| For Survival | For Reproduction | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum | Maximum | Minimum | Maximum | |
| Temperature (ºC) | ||||
| Salinity (‰) | 0.0 | 35.0 | ||
| Oxygen | ||||
| pH | ||||
| Salinity Range | poly-eu |
Age and Growth
| Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Adult Size (mm) | 200.0 | 200.0 |
| Typical Adult Size (mm) | 350.0 | 350.0 |
| Maximum Adult Size (mm) | 500.0 | 500.0 |
| Maximum Longevity (yrs) | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Typical Longevity (yrs | 2.5 | 2.5 |
Reproduction
| Start | Peak | End | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reproductive Season | |||
| Typical Number of Young Per Reproductive Event |
|||
| Sexuality Mode(s) | |||
| Mode(s) of Asexual Reproduction |
|||
| Fertilization Type(s) | |||
| More than One Reproduction Event per Year |
|||
| Reproductive Startegy | |||
| Egg/Seed Form |
Impacts
Economic Impacts in Chesapeake Bay
Heliotropium curassavicum (Seaside Heliotrope) has no reported economic impacts in Chesapeake Bay.
Economic Impacts Outside of Chesapeake Bay
In many warm-temperate-tropical regions, Heliotropium curassavicum (Seaside Heliotrope) is a common weed in saline soils (Gleason and Cronquist 1991; Hegazy 1994).
Ecological Impacts on Chesapeake Native Species
Heliotropium curassavicum (Seaside Heliotrope) is probably too rare in the Chesapeake area to have significant impacts on native Chesapeake Bay biota.
Ecological Impacts on Other Chesapeake Non-Native Species
Heliotropium curassavicum (Seaside Heliotrope) is probably too rare in the Chesapeake area to have significant impacts on introduced Chesapeake Bay biota.
References
Brown, Melvin L.; Brown, Russell G. (1984) Herbaceous Plants of Maryland, , College Park. Pp.Canby, W. M. (1864) Notes of botanical visits to the lower part of Delaware and the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 16: 16-19
Chapman, A. W. (1860) Flora of the southern United States, In: (Eds.) . , New York. Pp.
Elliott, Stephen (1824) A sketch of the botany of South-Carolina and Georgia., In: (Eds.) . , Charleston SC. Pp.
Fernald, Merritt L. (1950) Gray's Manual of Botany, In: (Eds.) . , New York. Pp.
Gleason, Henry A. (1963) The new Britton and Brown illustrated flora of the northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, In: (Eds.) . , New York. Pp.
Gleason, Henry A.; Cronquist, Arthur (1991) Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada, In: (Eds.) . , Bronx, New York. Pp.
Godfrey, R. K.; Wooten, Jean W. (1981) Aquatic and Wetland Plants of the Southeastern United States: Dicotyledones, , Athens. Pp.
Harvill, A. M.; Bradley, Ted R.; Stevens, Charles E.; Wieboldt, Thomas F.; Ware, Donna M. E.; Ogle, Douglas W.; Ramsey, Gwynn W.; Fleming, Gary P. (1992) Atlas of the Virginia Flora, , Burkeville, VA. Pp.
Hegazy, Ahmad K. (1994) Trade-off between sexual and vegetative reproduction of the weedy Heliotropium curassavicum, Journal of Arid Environments 27: 209-220
Higgins, Elizabeth A. T.; Rappelye, Robert D.; Brown, Russell G. (1971) The flora and ecology of Assateague Island, University of Maryland Agricultural Experiment Station Bulletin A-17: 1-61
Hill, Steven R. (1986) An annotated checklist of the vascular flora of Assateague Island (Maryland and Virginia), Castanea 51: 265-305
Kartesz, John T. (1994) A synonymized checklist of the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland., In: (Eds.) . , Portland OR. Pp.
1997-2024 USDA PLANTS Database.. Onine databse
Reed, Clyde F. (1964) A flora of the chrome and manganese ore piles at Canton, in the port of Baltimore, Maryland and at Newport News, Virginia, with descriptions of genera and species new to the flora of the eastern United States., Phytologia 10: 321-406
Resource Management Inc. (1993) National list of plant species that occur in wetlands., , Minneapolis.. Pp.
Robinson, Benjamin Lincoln; Fernald, Merrit L. (1908) Gray's New Manual of Botany., , New York. Pp.
Shreve, Forrest M.; Chrysler, M. A.; Blodgett, Frederck H.; Besley, F. W. (1910) The Plant Life of Maryland, , Baltmore. Pp.
Smith, Aubrey H. (1867) On colonies of plants observed near Philadelphia, Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia 19: 15-22
Tatnall, Robert R. (1946) Flora of Delaware and the Eastern Shore, , Wilmington. Pp.
Walter, Thomas (1788) Flora Caroliniana, , London. Pp.