Winter heliotrope

Photo Credit: GBNNSS

Habitat

• Found in hedgerows, roadsides, stream banks, waste ground, edges of woodland, and other damp habitats

Description

• Short perennial herb growing up to 30cm tall
• Kidney-shaped leaves, 20-50cm wide, persisting through the winter
• Upper side of leaves are hairless, shiny and green
• Underside of leaves are hairy and greyish in colour
• Leaves can form a dense carpet
• The plant is most conspicuous in the winter months when it flowers
• Flowers are mauve-pink in colour and very fragrant
• Flowers have 5 petals and are found in clusters on branched flower spikes (up to 30cm tall)
• Dioecious, meaning it has male and female flowers on different plants
• Only male plants present in Ireland, meaning they do not spread by seed
• The plant spreads by rhizomes which can regenerate from tiny fragments

Winter heliotrope leaves - Picture Credit: RPS Group Plc

Origin and Worldwide Distribution

• Native to the Mediterranean region of Europe and North Africa 
• Now present in the Azores, Balearic Islands, Belgium, Corsica, Denmark, France, Germany, GB, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Madeira, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland and parts of Australia

Potential or Known Impacts

• Forms dense colonies in disturbed habitats and roadside verges, successfully outcompeting native species through:
  • shading
  • monopolising below ground space and resources

Is it found in Northern Ireland?

How did it get here?

• Originally introduced as an ornamental plant and for ground cover in large demesnes and churchyards
• Nowadays, spread is usually a result of the dumping of garden waste on roadsides, etc.
• Can also spread via fragments of rhizomes carried on machinery or along watercourses

Management/Methods for Prevention

• Report any sightings
• Be Plant Wise
• Do not plant this species – plant native species instead
• Do not take or give cuttings from wild or cultivated plants
• Dispose of plant waste with care – this plant has the potential to regenerate from rhizome and aerial plant parts
• Know what you are growing
• Never collect plants from the wild