This non native member of the Daisy family, Asteraceae, has flowers that track the sun during the day, hence the name Heliotrope.
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Winter Heliotrope
Winter Heliotrope
| Hedgerow Type | |
| Common Names |
Bog Rhubarb |
| Scientific Name |
Petasites fragrans, syn Petasites pyrenaicus |
| Season Start |
Jan |
| Season End |
Dec |
Please note that each and every hedgerow item you come across may vary in appearance to these photos.
Leaves
The leaves are a rounded heart or kidney shape with very fine teeth around the edge and covered in hairs, especially on the underside of the leaf. They are evergreen and will present all year.
Flowers
Has several florets of mauve/lilac to white blossoms on each flower stem with individual flowers opening from the outside. It flowers from about mid Winter until early Spring. Winter Heliotropes are dioecious (the male and female parts grow on separate plants) but almost all the blooms present in the UK (apart from a few found in Sussex) are sterile male flowers. Consequently, in this country Winter Heliotrope can usually only reproduce itself vegetatively, by spreading out its underground rhizomes. This has been very successful though and the plants can often form large dense patches. The individual flowers have five petals and are a great source of nectar and pollen for early insects, at a time when food can be hard to come by.
Habitat
Next to hedgerows, paths and beside country roads where the soil is quite wet and near to gardens it has escaped from.
Possible Confusion
Butterbur, Petasites hybridus, looks very similar and is related but much bigger than Winter Heliotrope with longer flower stems. The two are related.
Smell
Has a strong, heady smell of marzipan or as some describe it, vanilla, that can easily be sensed when walking past a flowering patch.
Frequency
Fairly common.
Medicinal Uses
Has been used in homeopathy although it is toxic.
It has also been used in perfumes and cosmetics.
