heliotrope [Gr.,=sun-turning] or turnsole, name for any plant that turns to face the sun, especially members of the genus Heliotropium of the family Boraginaceae. The garden heliotrope is a valerian, and the winter heliotrope, or sweet coltsfoot, is a composite.

Any of about 250 species of tropical or temperate, mostly herbaceous, plants that make up the genus Heliotropium, in the borage family, found throughout the world. Included are many weedy species. The best known is garden heliotrope (H. arborescens), a shrubby perennial that bears fragrant, purple to white, flat-clustered, five-lobed flowers in coiled sprays, similar to forget-me-nots.

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