Indian heliotrope (Heliotropium indicum)

Sangketan or Indian heliotrope (Heliotropium indicum) is a plant species in the Boraginaceae, with upright stems, green in color, up to 100 cm high, many branches and coarse-haired, grows solitary or in groups at some distance to form plots in an area.

H. indicum has alternate leaves, egg circular shape, serrated or ridged edge, blunt base, sharp tip, wavy surface, green, smooth hair on top and bottom.

The leaves have long stalks with narrow linear pinnate bases and eventually widen into a leaf blade. The petiole continues into a single bone in the center with many pinnate and branching veins.

The flowers are small in panicles, grow in rows along the stem at the very top and are bluish white. The flower stems have a length of 10 cm, coming out of the axillary or the ends of the stalks that end curling with the petals facing upwards.

Indian heliotrope grows wild in fields, rice fields, yards and vacant land. It grows in dry climates from lowlands to an altitude of 800 meters. This plant is often used as traditional medicine.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Boraginales
Family: Boraginaceae
Subfamily: Heliotropioideae
Genus: Heliotropium
Species: Heliotropium indicum

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