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Hormathophylla spinosa

Hormathophylla spinosa
Photo: Ghislain118 http://www.fleurs-des-montagnes.net, CC BY-SA 3.0

Hormathophylla spinosa is a compact, spiny, cushion-forming subshrub from rocky sites in southern France and Spain, grown mainly in rock gardens. Its key to success is sharp drainage and full sun.

Family
Brassicaceae (Cabbage family)
Grows as
Shrub
Light
Full sun
Water
Water sparingly once established and let the soil dry out between waterings.
Soil
Very free-draining, gritty or stony soil, neutral to alkaline.
Temperature
Hardy to about -15 °C; avoid cold, wet winters.
How easy
Moderate
Native range
S. France to E. & S. Spain, NW. Africa
Climate
temperate

About

Hormathophylla spinosa, formerly Alyssum spinosum, the spiny madwort, is a species of flowering subshrub in the genus Hormathophylla of the family Brassicaceae, native to open rocky sites in south-eastern France and southern Spain. It forms a compact mound up to 30 cm in height. Dense spiny branches of tiny, toothed grey-green leaves bear racemes of white flowers at the tips in early summer.

It is especially cultivated in rock gardens. The cultivar H spinosa 'Roseum', with pink flowers, has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Hormathophylla spinosa 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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