Armeria maritima | |
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Armeria maritima at Dunnet Head, Scotland | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Caryophyllales |
Family: | Plumbaginaceae |
Genus: | Armeria |
Species: | A. maritima |
Binomial name | |
Armeria maritima | |
Synonyms [1] | |
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Armeria maritima, the thrift, sea thrift or sea pink, is a species of flowering plant in the family Plumbaginaceae. It is a compact evergreen perennial which grows in low clumps and sends up long stems that support globes of bright pink flowers. In some cases purple, white or red flowers also occur. It is a popular garden flower and has been distributed worldwide as a garden and cut flower. It does well in gardens designed as xeriscapes or rock gardens. The Latin specific epithet maritima means pertaining to the sea or coastal. [2]
Armeria maritima sensu lato has a circumpolar distribution can be found in the wild in coastal areas across the Northern Hemisphere. [11] It can grow in dry, sandy, saline conditions such as coastal cliffs, grassland and salt marshes, salted roadsides and inland on mountain rocks. [12] : 434 [13] : 70 It is a common sight in British salt marshes, where it flowers April to October. [14]
Armeria maritima has a great copper-tolerance, and is able to grow in soils with copper concentrations of up to 6400 mg/kg. One mechanism proposed is that not much copper is transported up the shoot of the plant, and is excreted from decaying leaves. [15] Some of the physiology and metabolism of this species has been described, of particular note is how the metabolism of this species is altered with elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. [16]
Pollination is by various insects including bees and Lepidoptera.
It is a known host species to the pathogenic fungus Phoma herbarum . [17]
Armeria maritima is a common species in the UK, however there are several subspecies and in England, subspecies elongata (Tall Thrift) has vulnerable conservation status and is designated as a species of principal importance for biodiversity conservation under the NERC Act (2006).
The cultivar 'Vindictive' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit. [18]
The British threepence coin issued between 1937 and 1952 had a design of thrift on the reverse. In British slang, thrifty means to have bought a lot for very little money and the phrase is thought to be the reason why thrift was used as the emblem for the threepence coin (not worth very much money). [19] [20]
As part of a 2002 marketing campaign, the plant conservation charity Plantlife chose sea thrift as the county flower of the Isles of Scilly.
Eschscholzia californica, the California poppy, golden poppy, California sunlight or cup of gold, is a species of flowering plant in the family Papaveraceae, native to the United States and Mexico. It is cultivated as an ornamental plant flowering in summer, with showy cup-shaped flowers in brilliant shades of red, orange and yellow. It is also used as food or a garnish. It became the official state flower of California in 1903.
Chard or Swiss chard is a green leafy vegetable. In the cultivars of the Flavescens Group, the leaf stalks are large and often prepared separately from the leaf blade; the Cicla Group is the leafy spinach beet. The leaf blade can be green or reddish; the leaf stalks are usually white, yellow or red.
Digitalis purpurea, the foxglove or common foxglove, is a toxic species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae, native to and widespread throughout most of temperate Europe. It has also naturalized in parts of North America, as well as some other temperate regions. The plant is a popular garden subject, with many cultivars available. It is the original source of the heart medicine digoxin. This biennial plant grows as a rosette of leaves in the first year after sowing, before flowering and then dying in the second year. It generally produces enough seeds so that new plants will continue to grow in a garden setting.
Frangula is a genus of about 35 species of flowering shrubs or small trees, commonly known as alder buckthorn in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. The common name buckthorn is also used to describe species of the genus Rhamnus in the same family and also sea-buckthorn, Hippophae rhamnoides in the Elaeagnaceae.
Sarracenia purpurea, the purple pitcher plant, northern pitcher plant, turtle socks, or side-saddle flower, is a carnivorous plant in the family Sarraceniaceae.
Armeria is a genus of flowering plants. These plants are sometimes known as "lady's cushion", "thrift", or "sea pink". The genus counts over a hundred species, mostly native to the Mediterranean, although Armeria maritima is an exception, being distributed along the coasts of the Northern Hemisphere, including Ireland, parts of the United Kingdom such as Cornwall, and the Pembrokeshire Coast National Park in Wales.
Campanula glomerata, known by the common names clustered bellflower or Dane's blood, is a species of flowering plant in the genus Campanula, belonging to the family Campanulaceae. It is the county flower of Rutland, England.
Orchis mascula, the early-purple orchid, early spring orchis, is a species of flowering plant in the orchid family, Orchidaceae.
The Habitats Directive is a directive adopted by the European Community in 1992 as a response to the Berne Convention. The European Community was reformed as the European Union the following year, but the directive is still recognised.
Sanicula is a genus of plants in family Apiaceae, the same family to which the carrot and parsnip belong. This genus has about 45 species worldwide, with at least 22 in North America. The common names usually include the terms sanicle or black snakeroot.
Plantago maritima, the sea plantain, seaside plantain or goose tongue, is a species of flowering plant in the plantain family Plantaginaceae. It has a subcosmopolitan distribution in temperate and Arctic regions, native to most of Europe, northwest Africa, northern and central Asia, northern North America, and southern South America.
Prunus lusitanica, the Portuguese laurel cherry or Portugal laurel, is a species of flowering plant in the rose family Rosaceae, native to the Iberian Peninsula, Morocco, the Macaronesian archipelagos, and the French Basque Country.
Tripleurospermum maritimum is a species of flowering plant in the aster family commonly known as false mayweed or sea mayweed. It is found in many coastal areas of Northern Europe, including Scandinavia and Iceland, often growing in sand or amongst beach pebbles.
Angelica pachycarpa, the Portuguese angelica, is a herbaceous perennial plant native to north western Spain and western Portugal, and naturalised in New Zealand. It inhabits forests, grasslands and stream sides and is occasionally grown as an ornamental garden subject for its glossy foliage and umbels of white flowers.
Euphorbia characias, the Mediterranean spurge or Albanian spurge, is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae typical of the Mediterranean vegetation. It is an upright, compact evergreen shrub growing to 1.2 m tall and wide.
Armeria pungens, common name spiny thrift, is a rare plant of the genus Armeria of the family Plumbaginaceae.
Astrantia major, the great masterwort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to central and eastern Europe. Growing up to 90 cm (35 in) tall by 45 cm (18 in) broad, it is an herbaceous perennial, much used in gardens.
Iris spuria subsp. maritima is a species of the genus Iris, part of a subgenus series known as Iris subg. Limniris and in the series Iris ser. Spuriae. It is a subspecies of Iris spuria, a beardless, rhizomatous perennial plant, from coastal regions Europe and north Africa with deep blue-violet flowers.
Scythris siccella is a moth of the family Scythrididae first described by the German entomologist Philipp Christoph Zeller in 1839, found in Europe.
Armeria welwitschii is a species of flowering plant in the thrift family (Plumbaginaceae), endemic to central coastal Portugal. It is often cultivated as an ornamental in rock gardens.