Sea holly
size:
30 to 60 centimeters
color:
bluish-greenish-gray
blossoms:
June through August
reproduction:
seed
life span:
biennial to perennial
- Dut: Blauwe Zeedistel
- Lat: Eryngium maritimum
- Eng: Sea Holly
- Fren: Panicaut des dunes
- Ger: Stranddistel
- Dan: Strand-mandstro
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- Sea holly, foto fitis, sytske dijksen
Sea holly
It hasn't been easy to survive as a sea holly plant in the Netherlands. Being so decorative, it was first threatened by (hobby) flower arrangers that picked too many flowers. No flowers, no seeds, no new plants. Furthermore, its habitat is now being threatened by dune fixation. It has become a rare plant and is now legally protected. The blue-green color of the leaf comes from a waxy layer which protects the plant from dehydration. Sea holly attracts butterflies, particularly the peacock butterfly and the Queen of Spain fritillary.
- Habitat
- Sea holly in De Koog, foto fitis, sytske dijksen
Sea holly needs open space, lots of nutrients and not too much direct contact with the elements of nature. The best place for it to grow is in the shelter of marram grass on the leeside of the beach ridge, where a flood mark lies buried in the ground. With its long taproot, it finds the necessary nutrients hidden in the flood mark. Along a beach ridge, marram grass doesn't generally grow that densely, giving sea holly a chance to germinate in the open spaces.
See also
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