From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishheliotropehe‧li‧o‧trope /ˈhiːliətrəʊp, ˈhe- $ ˈhiːliətroʊp/ noun [countable]DLGHBP a garden plant with nice-smelling pale purple flowers
Examples from the Corpus
heliotrope• At the same time, a drought affected the area, and heliotrope had time to grow and go to seed.• Beyond her kitchen window, crocuses sprouted up from the grass, bright as doubloons, orange and heliotrope.• A huge fire was burning, and beside it sat Aunt Emily, dressed in heliotrope and a number of shawls.• One of my favourites for growing in containers on a patio or terrace is the heliotrope used for bedding.• The wheat was collected with heliotrope, ground, and made into bread.Origin heliotrope (1000-1100) Latin heliotropium, from Greek heliotropion, from helios “sun” + tropos “turn”; because its flowers turn toward the sun 