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• Taxonomy
• Physical Description
• Distribution
• Growth
• Similar Species
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Taxonomy

Notes:

An accepted name in the RHS Horticultural Database.

Physical Description

Family Apiaceae:

Herbs, annual or perennial, rarely woody at base. Caulescent or acaulescent, stem hollow or solid. Leaves alternate, rarely opposite or basal; petiole usually sheathing at base; stipules absent (except in subfam. Hydrocotyloideae) ; leaf blade compound or sometimes simple, usually much incised or divided, pinnatifid to pinnatisect, or ternate-pinnately decompound. Flowers epigynous, small, bisexual or staminate (unisexual male), regular, in simple or compound umbels; umbellules few to many-flowered; rays often subtended by bracts forming a involucre; umbellules (sometimes called umbellets) usually subtended by bracteoles forming an involucel. Pedicels long, short or obsolete (then forming a capitate umbellule) . Calyx tube wholly adnate to the ovary; calyx teeth (sometimes called sepals) small or obsolete, forming a ring around the top of the ovary. Ovary inferior, 2-celled, with one anatropous ovule in each locule. Styles 2, usually swollen at the base forming a stylopodium which often secretes nectar. Fruit dry, of two mericarps united by their faces (commissure), and usually attached to a central axis (carpophore), from which the mericarps separate at maturity; mericarps are variously flattened dorsally, laterally or terete; each mericarp has 5 primary ribs, one down the back (dorsal rib), two on the edges near the commissure (lateral ribs), and two between the dorsal and lateral ribs (intermediate ribs), occasionally with four secondary ribs alternating with the primary, the ribs filiform to broadly winged, thin or corky; vittae (oil-tubes) usually present in the furrow (intervals between the ribs sometimes called the valleculae) and on the commissure face, rarely also in the pericarp, sometimes obscure. Each mericarp 1-seeded, splitting apart at maturity. Seed face (commissural albumen) plane, concave to sulcate.

Between 250 and 440( 455) genera and 3300 3700 species: widely distributed in the temperate zone of both hemispheres, mainly in Eurasia and especially in C Asia; 100 genera (ten endemic) and 614 species (340 endemic) in China.^[1]

Genus Eryngium:

Herbs biennial or perennial, caulescent or acaulescent, usually glabrous. Taproot fusiform or stout. Stem solitary, creeping to erect, branched above. Leaves simple; petioles sheathing; blade entire, pinnately or palmately parted or divided, leathery or membranous, venation parallel or reticulate, margin often ciliate to spinose. Umbels simple, capitate forming globose to cylindrical heads; heads solitary or in cymes, sometimes racemes; bracts 1 to several, entire or divided, subtending the head; bracteoles 1 to many, subtending the individual flowers. Flowers small, bisexual, sessile. Calyx teeth prominent, persistent, ovate to lanceolate, acute to obtuse. Petals white or purple, ovate to oblong, with incurved apex. Stylopodium absent; styles shorter than or exceeding the calyx teeth. Fruit globose to obovoid, scarcely flattened laterally, variously covered with scales or tubercles; ribs obsolete; vittae mostly 5, inconspicuous; commissure broad. Seed subterete in cross section, face plane or slightly concave. Carpophore absent.

Between 220 and 250 species: tropics and temperate regions worldwide, especially South America; two species in China.^[2]

Flowers: Bloom Period: June, July, August. • Flower Color: blue-violet

Distribution

Growth

Sunlight: Sun Exposure: Full Sun.

Temperature: Cold Hardiness: 2b, 3a, 3b, 4a, 4b, 5a, 5b, 6a, 6b, 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b. (map)

Similar Species

Members of the genus Eryngium:

There are approximately 651 species, subspecies, varieties, forms, and cultivars in this genus. Here are just 100 of them: E. aristulatum parishii · E. 'Astra' · E. 'Blue Bell' · E. 'Blue Jackpot' · E. 'Blue Steel' · E. 'Cobalt Star' · E. 'Forncett Ultra' · E. 'Mercurius' · E. 'Sapphire Blue' (Sapphire Blue Sea Holly) · E. 'Supernova' · E. aff. eburneum · E. affine · E. agavifolium (Agave-Leaved Sea Holly) · E. albovillosum · E. alismaefolium · E. alismifolium (Inland Coyote-Thistle) · E. aloifolium · E. alpinum (Alpine Eryngo) · E. alpinum 'Amethyst' (Alpine Eryngo) · E. alpinum 'Blue Jacket' · E. alpinum 'Blue Star' (Alpine Eryngo) · E. alpinum 'Holden Blue' · E. alpinum 'Opal' · E. alpinum 'Slieve Donard' · E. alpinum 'Superbum' (Alpine Eryngo) · E. alpinum 'Violet Lace' · E. altamiranoi · E. altanticum · E. alternatum · E. amathymbicum · E. americanum · E. amethystimum · E. amethystinum (Amethyst Coyote-Thistle) · E. amethystinum 'Sapphire Blue' (Amethyst Sea Holly) · E. amethystinum var. tenuifolium · E. amorginum · E. andersonii · E. andicola · E. andicolum · E. angustifolium · E. anomalum · E. antiatlanticum · E. antihystericum · E. antonii · E. aquaticum (Button-Snakeroot) · E. aquaticum L. var. aquaticum L. (Rattlesnakemaster) · E. aquaticum L. var. ravenelii (Gray) Mathias & Constance (Rattlesnakemaster) · E. aquaticum var. aquaticum · E. aquaticum var. normale · E. aquaticum var. ravenelii · E. aquaticum var. subinerme · E. aquifolium · E. argutum · E. argyreum · E. aristulatum (California Eryngo) · E. aristulatum Jeps. var. aristulatum Jeps. (California Eryngo) · E. aristulatum Jeps. var. hooveri Sheikh (Hoover's Eryngo) · Euonymus obovatus (Parish's Eryngo) · E. aristulatum var. aristulatum · E. aristulatum var. hooveri · E. aristulatum var. parishii · E. armatum (Armed Coyote-Thistle) · E. aromaticum (Fragrant Coyote-Thistle) · E. articulatum (Beethistle) · E. articulatum var. bakeri · E. articulatum var. microcephalum · E. arvense · E. asperifolium · E. atlanticum · E. attanticum · E. australe · E. axilliflorum · E. balansae · E. balchanicum · E. baldwini · E. baldwinii (Baldwin's Coyote-Thistle) · E. barellieri · E. barrelieri · E. beecheyanum · E. beechyanum · E. bellidifolium · E. biebersteinianum · E. biehersteinianum · E. billardierei · E. billardieri · E. bithynicum · E. bocconi · E. boissieuanum · E. bonplandi · E. bonplandianum · E. bonplandii · E. bornmuelleri · E. bossieuanum · E. bourgati · E. bourgatii (Mediterranean Sea Holly) · E. bourgatii 'Oxford Blue' · E. bourgatii 'Picos Amethyst' · E. bourgatii 'Picos Blue' · E. bourgatii atlanticum · E. bourgatii bourgatii

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Notes

Contributors:

• Brands, S.J. (comp.) 1989-2006. Systema Naturae 2000. The Taxonomicon. Universal Taxonomic Services, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Accessed October 5, 2006.

Identifiers:

• Zipcode Zoo Species Identifier: 1003972

Footnotes:

1. Menglan She, Fading Pu, Zehui Pan, Mark Watson, John F. M. Cannon, Ingrid Holmes-Smith, Eugene V. Kljuykov, Loy R. Phillippe & Michael G. Pimenov "Apiaceae". in Flora of China Vol. 14 Page 1. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.
2. Sheh Meng-lan, Mark F. Watson "Eryngium". in Flora of China Vol. 14 Page 24. Published by Science Press (Beijing) and Missouri Botanical Garden Press. Online at EFloras.org.