Notecard - Wild Heliotrope

This greeting card features a reproduction of my original watercolor painting of wild heliotrope (Phacelia sp.) during the 2017 superbloom in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.

The card comes with a brown kraft envelope and is blank inside, ready for your own personal note.

Indigenous Uses & Biology: In pre-European California, indigenous people, such as the Pomo, learned to use heliotrope’s healing spirit by using fresh, crushed leaves to treat skin ailments, and the Ohlone boiled the roots to make a tea to treat fevers and colds.

Add heliotrope to your garden sanctuary to elevate the habitat value for pollinators in late spring. Yellow-faced bumblebees are especially fond of the blooms. But use heliotrope’s plant wisdom cautiously and with respect; the fine hairs of heliotropes can irritate exposed skin and ingesting the plant long-term can be toxic to pets and damage the liver of both animals and humans.

Lore: Bring heliotrope into your space to elevate your association with the sun, fire spirit, and devotion. Ask its plant spirit to attract wealth or burn plant bundles for banishing rituals.

Protect and Share the Enchantment of California

Share this card with desert lovers, nature lovers, your favorite California native plant enthusiast or wytch, or anyone else who enjoys the diverse beauty and magic that California offers us.

With your purchase of a greeting card, a portion of the proceeds goes to organizations that work to protect California’s lands, native plants, and wildlife species.