Gen info
- Heliotropium arboreum is a species of flowering plant in the borage family, Boraginaceae.
- It was originally published as Tournefortia argentea, then transferred to Argusia argentea, until recently, when it was restored to the genus Tournefortina before being transferred in 2003 into the genus Heliotropium under a new name. (2)

Botany
• The Tree Heliotrope is a small to medium sized growing tree that typically reaches heights of 3.7 meters (12 ft). The leaves of this tree are light green in color, silvery in sheen, and silky in texture. The tree produces small fruits and flowers during its bloom, (May through November). The flowers are tiny, only reaching 0.61 centimeters (0.24 in) in diameter, white, and do not begin to appear until the tree has reached a few years of age. The fruits it produces are small, opaque and fleshy. The bark is light gray/brown and is corrugated. (2)

• Growth form: Slow growing tree to 6m tall, rarely to 12m. Foliage: Leaves oblanceolate to obovate, silvery green, pubescent, 10-30cm long by 3-12cm wide. Flowers: Inflorescence in paniculate or scorpoid cymes. Flowers white, to 0.5- 0.6cm across, pubescent. Fruits: Fruits 0.5-0.8cm across, ripening greenish orange. (3)

Distribution
- Native to the Philippines.
- Also native to Aldabra, Andaman Is., Borneo, Caroline Is., Chagos Archipelago, Christmas I., Cocos (Keeling) Is., Cook Is., Fiji, Gilbert Is., Hainan, Japan, Jawa, Kenya, Laccadive Is., Lesser Sunda Is., Line Is., Madagascar, Malaya, Maldives, Maluku, Marcus I., Marianas, Marshall Is., Mauritius, Mozambique, Mozambique Channel Is., Nansei-shoto, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Guinea, Nicobar Is., Niue, Ogasawara-shoto, Phoenix Is., Pitcairn Is., Queensland, Rodrigues, Réunion, Samoa, Seychelles, Society Is., Solomon Is., Somalia, South China Sea, Sri Lanka, Sulawesi, Sumatera, Taiwan, Tanzania, Tokelau-Manihiki, Tonga, Tuamotu, Tubuai Is., Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Wake I., Wallis-Futuna Is., Western Australia. (1)
- Along sandy seashores.

Constituents
- Nutritional analysis of senescent leaves revealed 97.38% dry matter, % nitrogen 0.65, C:N 46.03, % ash 2.46, % crude protein 5.25, % crude fat 2.43, % ADF 31.26, % NDF 40.70, % lignin 13.91, energy/ Kcal/kg 4556.4, total phenol 584 mg/g. (7)

Properties
Study suggest ciguatera poisoning protective property.

Parts used
Leaves.

Uses
Edibility
- Leaves eaten raw as salad ingredient, taste akin to parsley; also used as spice or stuffing. (2)
Folkloric
- No reported folkloric medicinal use in the Philippines.
- In many Pacific islands, used a traditional medicine to treat ciguatera fish poisoning.
- Also used for treating snake bites.
(2) Inner bark of the root used for treatment of diarrhea, poisoning due to consumption of tainted fish,, and rashes in children. Extract of roots used for rheumatism. (3)
- In traditional Polynesian medicine, a mixture of herbal ingredients is used for teething or "niho". The most cited remedy is Heliotropium arboreum leaf or leaf bud mixed with brown sugar: The remedy is crushed, put in a cloth, the juice expressed and applied locally on the teeth or administered orally. (6)
Others
- Wood: Used for making handicrafts, tool handles, and swim goggles.
- Masticatory: Bark is chewed with betel leaves. (See: Nga-nga)
- Deodorant: Leaf oil used for making deodorant. (2)
- Fuel: Wood used as fuel.
- Agroforestry: Used as windbreak and salt spray barrier. It thrives in sandy barren soil; the roots taking hold in the sand, helping stabilize the shore, mitigating coastal erosion.
- Ornamental: Dried flowers and fruits used in traditional garlands (leis). (3)
- Cultural / Religion / Superstition: Wood and leaves believed to have magical properties. In Namoluk island, young unopened leaves used to rid a person of "sea spirits'. Wood ground material used to treat diseases caused by violation of sea taboos. (3)
- Dye: Leaves yield a red dye.
- Nectar: An important source of nectar; recommended for honey production.
- Fodder: Leaves provide abundant mulch on atolls, Used as fodder for pigs.

Studies
• Protective Effect Against Pacific Ciguatoxin / Rosmarinic Acid: Senescent leaves of Heliotropium foertherianum are traditionally used in the Pacific region to treat Ciguatera Fish poisoning. Study evaluated H. foertherianum aqueous extract, rosmarinic acid and its derivatives for its ability to reduce the effects of ciguatoxins. Both aqueous extract of leaves and rosmarinic acid show inhibitory activity in the neuroblastoma cell assay and receptor binding assay. Among all molecules evaluated, rosmarinic acid was the most active compound. (4)

Availability
Wild-crafted.

Additional Sources and Suggested Readings
(1)
Heliotropium arboreum / KEW: Plants of the World Online
(2)
Heliotropium arboreum / Wikipedia
(3)
Heliotropium arboreum / National Parks: FLORA & FAUNA WEB
(4)
Protective effect of Heliotropium foertherianum (Boraginaceae) folk remedy and its active compound, rosmarinic acid, against a Pacific ciguatoxin / Fanny Rossi, Valerie Jullian, Dominique Laurent et al / Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2012; 143(1): pp 33-40 / DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2012.05.045
(5)
Heliotropium arboreum / National Parks: FLORA & FAUNA WEB
(6)
Traditional medical practices for children in five islands from the Society archipelago (French Polynesia) / Francois Chassagne, Jean-Francois Butaud, Phila Raharivelomanana et al / Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, 2023; 19, Article No: 44 / DOI: 10.1186/s13002-023-00617-0
(7)
Of turtles and trees: Nutritional analysis of tree heliotrope (Heliotropium foertherianum) leaves consumed by green turtles (Chelonia mydas) in Hawaiʻi / Karla J McDermid, Rajesh Jha, Marc R Rice, George H Balazs / Micronesia, 2018: pp 1-11
(8)
Velvet leaf soldierbush Heliotropium foertherianum /  Reinhard Fichtl / Bees for Development Journal, 2011; Edition 101

DOI: It is not uncommon for links on studies/sources to change. Copying and pasting the information on the search window or using the DOI (if available) will often redirect to the new link page. (Citing and Using a (DOI) Digital Object Identifier)