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Alpine sea holly

Alpine sea holly

A special plant with a blue bristly inflorescence

A flower with bluish blossoms, this rare plant mostly blooms every other year between July and September.
It is recognized by its inflorescence, which resembles a blue or blue-violet cone, and by the leaves around the inflorescence, which are pinnately lobed, bristly, and sharply serrated.

Alpine sea holly (Eryngium alpinum)

Size
  • 30 to 80 cm in height
Blooming period
  • June - September
Habitat

  • Wet meadows, former hayfields, overgrown scree
Distribution

  • Alps, Karawanks
   
Kingdom
  • Plantae
Phylum
  • Magnoliophyta
Class

  • Magnoliopsida
Order
  • Apiales
Family
  • Apiaceae
Genus
  • Eryngium
Species
  • alpska možina

 

The Alpine sea holly grows between 30 and 80 centimeters in height. It has individual, upright stems, usually with three branches at the top. At the tip of the main branch are blue or blue-violet, globe-shaped inflorescences that resemble a cone. This conical appearance is created by the bristly involucral bracts, which are surrounded by pinnately cut, serrated, and spiny leaves, reaching up to 25 cm in length. The blue beauty, sometimes referred to as the "queen of the mountains," features five calyx lobes that are longer than the white corolla.

It blooms from late July to September, usually every other year.

In Slovenia, it is very rare. You will find it only on Črna prst and Porezen, and occasionally in the Karavanke mountains and the western Julian Alps. It is widespread in open, sunny, and more humid grasslands, on former hayfields, and on overgrown scree near the forest edge. This alpine species is also found elsewhere in the Alps, the French Jura, and the Dinaric mountains, extending to Bosnia and Montenegro.

The Alpine sea holly is a protected plant.

DID YOU KNOW?

  1. The Alpine sea holly (Eryngium alpinum) is indeed a close relative of cumin and parsley.
  2. It is sometimes called the "queen of the mountains."
  3. In the past, it was believed that the root of the Alpine sea holly brought good luck in love.
  4. It was also known as "sleepyhead" and was placed in cradles to help babies sleep more easily.