Eryngium maritimum, the sea holly or sea eryngo, or sea eryngium, is a perennial species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae and native to most European coastlines. It resembles a thistle in appearance because of its burr-shaped inflorescences. Despite its common name, it is not a true holly but an umbellifer.
Etymology
E. maritimum was formally described by Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum I: 233 (1753). The generic name Eryngium derives from Greek and may have developed from a description of the plant by Theophrastus (300 BC), who referred to it as "Eryngion", meaning a spiny plant.[1] Alternatively, the name may have derived from the Greek word "eruggarein", meaning to eructate (belch), since the plant was used to treat various digestive disorders such as trapped gases.[2]
The common English name appears to date from the 16th century. In his 1548 publication The Names of Herbes, the naturalist William Turner stated that "Eryngium is named in englishe sea Hulver or sea Holly".[4]
Taxonomy
Although hybrids of E. maritimum have been reported, they are relatively few. For example, records have been made of a hybrid between E. maritimum and E. campestre (=Eryngium x rocheri Corb. ex Guétrot) in France,[5][6] and in the region of Valencia, Spain.[7]
Sea holly is a glabrous, intensely glaucous, clump-forming perennial growing to around 60 cm tall. It is a slightly succulent xerophyte with a deep, well-developed root system and waxy leaf cuticle. The leaves are stiff, spiny, and leathery. The basal leaves, which measure 5 – 15 cm in length and are rolled when young,[9] are palmately 3-lobed and suborbicular, truncate, or cordate at the base.[8] The stem leaves are similar, but are smaller, sessile, and palmate. All leaves have thick margins, often with purplish veins, and stomata on both sides. The petiole is channeled and dilated at the base.[9]
The cotyledons are abruptly contracted into a petiole.[8]
The flowers are bluish white and measure 8mm across, in 1.5 – 2.5 cm heads[10] The bracts are spiny, and the bracteoles are longer than the flowers. The sepals measure 4 – 5 mm and are longer than the petals.[8]
The fruit is 13 – 15 mm, more or less uncompressed and covered in stigmatic papillae which become longer towards the apex. The styles are about 6 mm long, divergent to somewhat recurved.[8]
It flowers June to September.
Identification
Apart from the context of its specific coastal habitat, sea holly may also be distinguished from its congeners by the deeper, strongly spiny teeth on the basal leaves and stem leaves.[11]
Distribution
Throughout its range, sea holly is a coastal species, occurring locally and almost continuously along the coastlines of England and Ireland. In Great Britain, it is most abundant on the south and west coasts, but now largely extinct from the coasts of northeast England and Scotland; however, it may have once been more common and widespread there.[12] It was formerly extant in Shetland, but never properly established at the northernmost limit of its native range. The last Shetland record was made from Fitful Head in 1884, where the plant probably once grew extensively on the sands of the Bay of Quendale.[13]
In Europe and adjacent parts of northern Africa and the Middle East, the plant has a wide native distribution.[14][15][16] In these regions, it occurs on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, the Baltic and Mediterranean Seas as well as the Black and Azov Seas.[12] The distribution also extends northwards into Denmark, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Lativa, and Estonia, along the Skagerrak and the Swedish islands of Gotland and Öland.[17] The Scandinavian distribution is relatively southerly, extending only as far north as southern Norway and Sweden.[18]
Sea holly has been introduced to parts of eastern North America, where it was once valued as an ornamental plant for seashore restoration.[19] It has also been introduced to Australia with plantings of marram grass.[20]
Habitat and ecology
Sea holly characteristically grows on the well-drained substrates of sand dunes and shingles confined to regions with mild winters.[12] More rarely, it may be found growing on rocky coasts with patches of sand interspersed between artificial hard coastal protection features with a similar structure to shingle. In northern Britain, its distribution is limited by the lack of suitable dune systems to grow on[21] It withstands the harsh environmental conditions typical of beaches and coastal dune habitats worldwide; namely low soil nutrient levels, frost, strong salty winds, high temperatures and insolation, and periodic sand burial.[12]
Sea holly is associated with various shingle and strandline communities, where it may be scattered within the vegetation. On shingles, sea holly occurs within Honckenya peploides-Cakile maritima strandline community above the tidal limit [22] On dunes, sea holly may be found growing in the Elymus farctus ssp. boreali-atlanticus foredune community,[22] the pioneer vegetation on foredunes, with Elytrigia juncea (E. farctus) as a dominant species.
Sea holly is a poor ecological competitor that generally thrives in open areas,[23] declining when habitats are invaded by shrubby species such as Rosa rugosa, Hippophae rhamnoides, Elaeagnus commutata and Salix repens due to substantial shading effects[12] This is because sea holly is a light-demanding plant,[24] although it is protected against water stress through excessive insolation thanks to its succulent equifacial leaves.[25]
Sea holly has deep, well-developed taproots for water storage, allowing the plant to survive long dry periods that may occur in its habitat. The root system also shows a high degree of plasticity in response to the dynamics of coastal ecosystems and may consequently develop a rhizome-like structure. For example, in response to permanent sand burial, the root internodes gradually lengthen in such a way that the perennating buds are brought closer to the ground surface for ensuring the plants' survival throughout the growing seasons.[26]
Status
Despite a widespread native European distribution, populations of this species have been declining substantially in the northern parts of its range, with some of these already having become extinct. It is now threatened or endangered in most European countries and included in endangered plant lists and Red Data Books of several of these countries[27] In Britain, its historic decline may be at least partly attributable to being dug up from the wild on account of its popularity as an ornamental plant in gardens on dry soils.[28]
In culture, use and relationship with humans
Like other species in the genus, E. maritimum has been traditionally consumed to combat various ailments, especially thanks to the plant's high antioxidant activity and content of phenolic and flavonoid compounds.[29] It has been utilised for its diuretic, stimulant, cystotonic, stone inhibitor, aphrodisiac, expectorant and anthelmintic properties.[30] Moreover, essential oils, extracted by hydro-distillation, from the aerial parts of the plant have been found to contain oxygenated sesquiterpenes with antimicrobial activity against E. coli and L. monocytogenes.[31]
The roots of E. maritimum were formerly candied as a sweetmeat and recommended by Dioscorides as a remedy for flatulence. The young shoots may also be eaten like asparagus.[8]
Sea holly has often been represented in paintings and other artwork, such as in works by Irish artist Patrick O'Hara and on postage stamp prints such as the 1967 one-franc stamp in Belgium,[32] and the 25-pfennig stamp in Germany[12] The plant has also been mentioned in various plays and poems, most notably in the Merry Wives of Windsor by Shakespeare[33] and in the Italian Journey by Goethe.[34]
"Let the sky rain potatoes; let it thunder to the tune of Green-sleeves, hail kissing-comfits and snow eringoes [sea-holly], let there come a tempest of provocation..."
—Falstaff, Act 5, scene v, "The Merry Wives of Windsor", William Shakespeare
Eryngium is a genus of flowering plants in the family Apiaceae. There are about 250 species. The genus has a cosmopolitan distribution, with the center of diversity in South America. Common names include eryngo and sea holly.
Ammophila is a genus of flowering plants consisting of two or three very similar species of grasses. The common names for these grasses include marram grass, bent grass, and beachgrass. These grasses are found almost exclusively on the first line of coastal sand dunes. Their extensive systems of creeping underground stems or rhizomes allow them to thrive under conditions of shifting sands and high winds, and to help stabilize and prevent coastal erosion. Ammophila species are native to the coasts of the North Atlantic Ocean where they are usually the dominant species on sand dunes. Their native range includes few inland regions, with the Great Lakes of North America being the main exception. The genus name Ammophila originates from the Greek words ἄμμος (ámmos), meaning "sand", and φίλος (philos), meaning "friend".
Crambe maritima, common name sea kale, seakale or crambe, is a species of halophytic (salt-tolerant) flowering plant in the genus Crambe of the family Brassicaceae. It grows wild along the coasts of mainland Europe and the British Isles.
The British National Vegetation Classification or NVC is a system of classifying natural habitat types in Great Britain according to the vegetation they contain.
Eryngium alpinum, the alpine sea holly, alpine eryngo or queen of the Alps, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the family Apiaceae.
This article gives an overview of the shingle, strandline and sand-dune communities in the British National Vegetation Classification system.
Gugh could be described as the sixth inhabited island of the Isles of Scilly, but is usually included with St Agnes with which it is joined by a sandy tombolo known as "The Bar" when exposed at low tide. The island is only about 1 km (0.62 mi) long and about 0.5 km (0.31 mi) wide, with the highest point, Kittern Hill at 34 m (112 ft). The geology consists of Hercynian granite with shallow podzolic soils on the higher ground and deeper sandy soils on the lower ground. The former Gugh farm is just north of the neck across the middle of the island between the two hills. The two houses were designed and built in the 1920s by Charles Hamlet Cooper.
Eryngium campestre, known as field eryngo, or Watling Street thistle, is a species of Eryngium, which is used medicinally. A member of the family Apiaceae, eryngo is a hairless, thorny perennial plant. The leaves are tough and stiff, whitish-green. The basal leaves are long-stalked, pinnate and spiny. The leaves of this plant are mined by the gall fly, Euleia heraclei.
Pancratium maritimum, or sea daffodil, is a species of bulbous plant native to the Canary Islands and both sides of the Mediterranean region and Black Sea from Portugal, Morocco and the Balearic Islands east to Turkey, Syria, Israel and the Caucasus. In the parts of its range on the south Bulgarian and north Turkish and Georgian coasts of Black Sea. It is also naturalized in southern California, Bermuda and the Azores.
Ammophila breviligulata is a species of grass native to eastern North America, where it grows on sand dunes along the Atlantic Ocean and Great Lakes coasts. Beachgrass thrives under conditions of shifting sand, sand burial, and high winds; it is a dune-building grass that builds the first line of sand dunes along the coast. Beachgrass is less vigorous in stabilized sand, and is only infrequently found further inland than the coastal foredunes. On the Atlantic coastline of North America, Ammophila breviligulata has been observed as far south as North Carolina, and is often planted in dune restoration projects. Ammophila breviligulata was introduced to the Pacific coast of North America in the 1930s. It is proving to be invasive, and is increasingly important to coastal ecology and development in Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.
Coincya monensis subsp. monensis, the Isle of Man cabbage, is a species of plant in the family Brassicaceae that is found in coastal habitats on the west of the island of Great Britain and around the coasts of the Isle of Man.
Sand dune stabilization is a coastal management practice designed to prevent erosion of sand dunes. Sand dunes are common features of shoreline and desert environments. Dunes provide habitat for highly specialized plants and animals, including rare and endangered species. They can protect beaches from erosion and recruit sand to eroded beaches. Dunes are threatened by human activity, both intentional and unintentional. Countries such as the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Netherlands, operate significant dune protection programs.
Climping Sand Dunes are a system of dunes at Climping in the Arun District of West Sussex, England located west of Littlehampton. The eastern end of the dunes adjoins the River Arun and Littlehampton Redoubt.
Juncus acutus, the spiny rush, sharp rush or sharp-pointed rush, is a flowering plant in the monocot family Juncaceae. It is native to the Americas, Northern and Southern Africa, Western and Southern Europe and West Asia, and is found in a variety of wet habitats, such as bogs, fens, meadows, and salt marshes, and along the edges of ponds and lakes.
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.
Ireland is in the Atlantic European Province of the Circumboreal Region, a floristic region within the Holarctic.
Cape Flats Dune Strandveld is an endangered vegetation type. This is a unique type of Cape Strandveld that is endemic to the coastal areas around Cape Town, including the Cape Flats.
The Eastern Isles are a group of twelve small uninhabited islands within the Isles of Scilly Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, part of the Scilly Heritage Coast and a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) first designated in 1971 for its flora and fauna. They have a long period of occupation from the Bronze Age with cairns and entrance graves through to Iron Age field systems and a Roman shrine on Nornour. Before the 19th century, the islands were known by their Cornish name, which had also become the name of the largest island in the group after the submergence of the connecting lands.
Stevenston Beach is a Local Nature Reserve (LNR), located between Stevenston and Saltcoats in Scotland. It is situated on the coast, west of the Stevenston Burn. The park covers an area of 12 ha, and consists mostly of sand dunes, with an area of coal mining spoil derived from Auchenharvie Colliery No. 5 pit which produced Ladyha' coal. It is ranked as the fifth most important sand dune system in Ayrshire. The dunes are also designated as a wildlife site by the Scottish Wildlife Trust.
Erodium maritimum, the sea stork's-bill, is a herbaceous perennial plant in the family Geraniaceae. It occurs on free-draining stony soils close to the sea and, very occasionally, in similar situations inland. Most of the world's population occurs in southern Britain and Brittany, but it is found in scattered locations around the coast of Europe as far as Corsica and Italy, and south to the Canary Isles.
References
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