Limonium arborescens
Encyclopedia
Limonium arborescens is a species of sea lavender known by the common name tree limonium and siempreviva. It is endemic to the Canary Islands
, where it is a plant of coastal habitat.
. The thick leaves are oval in shape and up to about 30 centimeters long including the petioles
, located in a basal rosette about the stem. The inflorescence
is a stiff, branching panicle often exceeding a meter tall bearing large clusters of flowers. The flowers have lavender sepal
s and smaller white petals.
It is also known from coastal southern California
, where it is a non-native
landscaping escapee which can occasionally be seen growing around beaches and roadsides.
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union...
, where it is a plant of coastal habitat.
Description
This is a tough perennial herb growing from a woody rhizomeRhizome
In botany and dendrology, a rhizome is a characteristically horizontal stem of a plant that is usually found underground, often sending out roots and shoots from its nodes...
. The thick leaves are oval in shape and up to about 30 centimeters long including the petioles
Petiole (botany)
In botany, the petiole is the stalk attaching the leaf blade to the stem. The petiole usually has the same internal structure as the stem. Outgrowths appearing on each side of the petiole are called stipules. Leaves lacking a petiole are called sessile, or clasping when they partly surround the...
, located in a basal rosette about the stem. The inflorescence
Inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Strictly, it is the part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed and which is accordingly modified...
is a stiff, branching panicle often exceeding a meter tall bearing large clusters of flowers. The flowers have lavender sepal
Sepal
A sepal is a part of the flower of angiosperms . Collectively the sepals form the calyx, which is the outermost whorl of parts that form a flower. Usually green, sepals have the typical function of protecting the petals when the flower is in bud...
s and smaller white petals.
It is also known from coastal southern California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it is a non-native
Introduced species
An introduced species — or neozoon, alien, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its indigenous or native distributional range, and has arrived in an ecosystem or plant community by human activity, either deliberate or accidental...
landscaping escapee which can occasionally be seen growing around beaches and roadsides.