Family: Apiaceae
Common name: Alpine sea holly, Alpine eryngo, Eryngo, Queen of the Alps
Alpine sea holly is a unique and strikingly beautiful plant with spiky flowers that look like small upside down pineapples. They are ideal for home gardens or landscaped areas bringing in a distinct aesthetic appeal.
Plant characteristics
Alpine sea holly plants can grow to a height of 40-70 cm with an erect stem that is sometimes tinged with purple. Leaves at the bottom have a stalk and are about 13-15 cm long.
Towards the tip, the leaves are smaller and sessile, which means that they connected directly to the stem without a stalk. Leaf edges are toothed and spiny which is especially pronounced in older leaves.
Alpine sea holly flowers are very unique, formed inside tiny pineapple shaped structures that are 4-6 cm long. The lower part is surrounded by a ruffle of spiky bracts that are metallic blue or white in color.
The actual flowers are tiny, 1-2 mm long and tightly packed within the cylindrical structures. These cylinders are initially pale green, later getting darker in color as they mature.
Pollinators like bees, butterflies, and insects are attracted to the Alpine sea holly flowers, which after pollination form small oblong fruits that contain several seeds for propagation.
Gardening tips
Alpine sea holly plants prefer full sunlight and well-drained soil. These plants are quite sturdy and can stand drought, poor soil conditions, salinity, and weather fluctuations, making them ideal plants for amateur gardeners.
They can be grown in pots as single plants or in flower beds as a cluster, where they can self-seed and produce more plants when the growing conditions are appropriate.
Water the plants regularly during initial days, and later only when the soil is completely dry. Deadheading spent flowers can make the plant look more aesthetic and also encourage profuse blooming.
Though Alpine sea holly plants are mostly grown as ornamentals, they have some medicinal uses in the treatment of chronic cough and chest infections.
Propagation is through seeds and root division once they form big clumps of plants.
Photographed at: KEW gardens, London
