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Amethyst eryngo

Eryngium amethystinum

Also called Italian Eryngo

Amethyst eryngo
Photo: Alvesgaspar, CC BY-SA 3.0

Amethyst eryngo is a clump-forming perennial with spiny, blue-purple stems and silvery blue flower heads, native to dry, calcium-rich soils around the Mediterranean. It thrives in full sun and sharp drainage.

Family
Apiaceae (Carrot family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Full sun
Water
Water sparingly once established; let the soil dry out between waterings.
Soil
Well-drained, gritty, alkaline or lime-rich soil.
Temperature
Hardy to about -15 °C; protect from prolonged wet cold.
How easy
Easy
Native range
N. Sicilia, Italy to W. Balkan Pen.
Climate
temperate

About

Eryngium amethystinum, the amethyst eryngo, Italian eryngo or amethyst sea holly, is a clump-forming, perennial, tap-rooted herb. Its stem is 30 to 50 cm (12 to 20 in) long and is light blue to purple in colour. It has a basal circle of obovate, pinnate, spiny, leathery, mid-green leaves. It flowers in mid to late summer with cylindrical umbels, 2–3 cm long atop silvery blue bracts and branching stems. The plant is native to the eastern Mediterranean and prefers dry places and soils that are rich in calcium.

Other Eryngium plants

Alpine Sea Holly · Rattlesnakemaster · Eryngium arenosum · California eryngo · Coastal eryngo · Beethistle · Eryngium babadaghense · Baldwin's eryngo · Eryngium billardieri · Eryngium bithynicum · Amethyst Eryngo · Field eryngo

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Eryngium amethystinum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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