Sea Lavender
Limonium californicum
Leaves in a basal rosette (as if growing in a circle out of a center point). Distinctive branched panicle (flower stalk) that is much taller than the leaves, with small & papery purple flowers.
About 1ft in height, forms clumps.
Tolerates salt & excretes salt from leaves.
smell?
Safe to touch, no known reactivity.
"We boiled the young leaves to eat as vegetables. The leaves also can be dried and stored, they keep well for future use"
- autobiography of Delfina Cuero, Kumeyaay
Taxonomy
Kingdom
Plantae
Domain
Magnoliopsida
Class
Order
Family
Asteraceae
note composite flower, curled stamens, volucre, yellow color
Genus
Species
Found near:
Range Map
Listed Status: None known
Collection Notes:
Entire panicle can be clipped at base when seeds are ready.
Sea Lavender vs.
Limonium californicum
Yerba Mansa
Anemopsis californica
Food source for:
Blue Mud Dauber Wasp
Chalybion californicum
Propagation:
Blooms from July - December.
Stem propagation - n/a
Restoration Notes:
European & African species of sea lavender have become an invasive management problem in many Californian wetland environments.
The European species (Limonium duriusculum) has smaller leaves when mature, with more showy flowers than L. californicum. The flowers have a clearer 5 petal shape with lighter purple & white color, and the panicle (branching flower stalk) is proportionally large compared to the base of the plant.