problems secondary to liver failure (aimless walking, chewing motions, head pressing). Animals may appear to be normal at first, then become suddenly affected; the syndrome progresses rapidly over a few days to a week. Pyrrolizidine alkaloids often cause upset stomachs and liver damage for humans who ingest any part of the plant. The purple coloration of the flower lent itself to the so-called "heliotrope cyanosis" that was characteristic of severely ill patients in the 1918 flu pandemic. Weed status in Australia In the Australian states of South Australia and Victoria, common heliotrope is the most economically damaging of all of the invasive species in Australia, and its cost to the national economy (mainly borne by farmers) over the 60 years up to 2021 is estimated to be over half a billion Australian dollars. Gallery References arborescens Plants described in 1759 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus