Common name: Potato Weed
Heliotropium europaeum L. APNI* 
Description: Annual herb, erect, to 30 cm high, finely hairy with short grey hairs (appearing yellowish on new growth).
Leaves elliptic to ovate, 1.5–7 cm long, 10–30 mm wide, apex obtuse, lamina finely hairy; long-petiolate.
Flowers in branched scorpioid cymes; bracts absent. Sepals c. 3.5 mm long, acute. Corolla 2–2.5 mm long, white; spreading part about as long as the tube. Anthers acute, tips free. Style very short, stigma conical, papillate.
Mericarps 4, wrinkled or warted, glabrous (rarely pubescent).
Flowering: summer–autumn.
Distribution and occurrence: chiefly south of line from Broken Hill to Nyngan and Quirindi districts. Widespread weed, on various soils.
NSW subdivisions: *NC, *CC, *CT, *ST, *NWS, *CWS, *SWS, *NWP, *SWP, *NFWP, *SFWP
Other Australian states: *Vic. *W.A. *S.A.
This species has usually been regarded as introduced and naturalised in Australia, however, it is now considered to be cosmopolitan (L. Craven pers. comm.).
Text by Peter G. Wilson
Taxon concept: Flora of NSW 3 (1992)
APNI* Provides a link to the Australian Plant Name Index (hosted by the Australian National Botanic Gardens) for comprehensive bibliographic data
***The AVH map option provides a detailed interactive Australia wide distribution map drawn from collections held by all major Australian herbaria participating in the Australian Virtual Herbarium project.
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