Limonium binervosum
Encyclopedia
Limonium binervosum, commonly known as the Rock Sea Lavender, is an aggregate species in the family Plumbaginaceae
.
Despite the common name, Rock Sea Lavender is not related to the lavender
s or to rosemary
but is a perennial herb
with small violet-blue flowers with five petals in clusters..
Eight Rock Sea Lavenders are endemic to Britain
and Guernsey
and the taxonomy was reviewed in 1986 to include a range of subspecies.
Growing 10-70 cm tall from a rhizome
, Limonium binervosum flourishes in saline soils, so are therefore common near the western coast
s and in salt marsh
es, and also on saline, gypsum
and alkaline soils such as found on Flat Holm
island in Wales
, UK
Plumbaginaceae
Plumbaginaceae is a family of flowering plants, with a cosmopolitan distribution. The family is sometimes referred to as the leadwort family or the plumbago family....
.
Despite the common name, Rock Sea Lavender is not related to the lavender
Lavender
The lavenders are a genus of 39 species of flowering plants in the mint family, Lamiaceae. An Old World genus, distributed from Macaronesia across Africa, the Mediterranean, South-West Asia, Arabia, Western Iran and South-East India...
s or to rosemary
Rosemary
Rosemary, , is a woody, perennial herb with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple or blue flowers, native to the Mediterranean region. It is a member of the mint family Lamiaceae, which includes many other herbs, and is one of two species in the genus Rosmarinus...
but is a perennial herb
Herb
Except in botanical usage, an herb is "any plant with leaves, seeds, or flowers used for flavoring, food, medicine, or perfume" or "a part of such a plant as used in cooking"...
with small violet-blue flowers with five petals in clusters..
Eight Rock Sea Lavenders are endemic to Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
and Guernsey
Guernsey
Guernsey, officially the Bailiwick of Guernsey is a British Crown dependency in the English Channel off the coast of Normandy.The Bailiwick, as a governing entity, embraces not only all 10 parishes on the Island of Guernsey, but also the islands of Herm, Jethou, Burhou, and Lihou and their islet...
and the taxonomy was reviewed in 1986 to include a range of subspecies.
Growing 10-70 cm tall from a rhizome
Rhizome
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...
, Limonium binervosum flourishes in saline soils, so are therefore common near the western coast
Coast
A coastline or seashore is the area where land meets the sea or ocean. A precise line that can be called a coastline cannot be determined due to the dynamic nature of tides. The term "coastal zone" can be used instead, which is a spatial zone where interaction of the sea and land processes occurs...
s and in salt marsh
Salt marsh
A salt marsh is an environment in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by dense stands of halophytic plants such as herbs, grasses, or low shrubs. These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of the salt marsh...
es, and also on saline, gypsum
Gypsum
Gypsum is a very soft sulfate mineral composed of calcium sulfate dihydrate, with the chemical formula CaSO4·2H2O. It is found in alabaster, a decorative stone used in Ancient Egypt. It is the second softest mineral on the Mohs Hardness Scale...
and alkaline soils such as found on Flat Holm
Flat Holm
Flat Holm is a limestone island lying in the Bristol Channel approximately from Lavernock Point in the Vale of Glamorgan, but in the City and County of Cardiff. It includes the most southerly point of Wales....
island in Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, UK
Subspecies
- Limonium binervosum subsp. anglicum
- Limonium binervosum subsp. cantianum
- Limonium binervosum subsp. saxonicum
- Limonium britanicum subsp. britanicum
- Limonium britanicum subsp. combense
- Limonium binervosum subsp. pseudotranswallianum
- Limonium dodartiforme
- Limonium loganicum
- Limonium recurvum