Sea Holly

Eryngium

Common names: Eryngo, Sea Hulver and Sea Holme, Cardoon

Eryngium bourgatii, Eryngium Planum, and Eryngium alpinum, as well as Eryngium maritimum, are called Sea Holly in nursery catalogs and at garden centers.

Eryngium maritimum is a perennial wildflower found along European seacoasts, and although its natural habitat is widespread, it is an endangered species. The flowers of E. maritimum are hermaphrodite, so the plant is self-fertile. It is also pollinated by bees, flies, beetles.

The name may come from the Greek word ‘errugggarein’ meaning ‘to cure indigestion and wind’ or from ‘eerungos’, meaning ‘beard of a goat’. Plutarch mentioned the effect of sea holly on goats: "It causeth her first to stand still and afterwards the whole flock, until such time as the shepherd takes it from her." ‘Maritimum’, of course, refers to the plant’s seaside habitat.

In the 17th and 18th centuries, the candied roots of the plant, called ‘Eringoes’, were believed to be an aphrodisiac. Sea holly roots were collected on a large scale in England. In modern herbalism, the root is used as a diuretic, expectorant, stimulant and tonic.

Both the leaves and the roots of sea holly are edible. Linnaeus recommended boiling the young flowering shoots. The shoots are sometimes blanched – that is, grown without light so they will be very pale in color – and served as an asparagus substitute. The roots, boiled or roasted, taste like chestnuts.

Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Magnoliophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida – Dicotyledons
Subclass: Rosidae
Order: Apiales
Family: Apiaceae
Genus: Eryngium L.
Species: Eryngium maritimum; Eryngium bourgatii; Eryngium Planum; Eryngium alpinum

The great British gardener of the Edwardian period, William Robinson, said that sea holly was "not surpassed in beauty by any plant!" Several species of Eryngium have been cultivated as garden plants, and named varietals are available in nurseries. The plant is valued both for its silver-blue foliage and its silvery or blue cone-shaped flowers. ‘Sapphire Blue’ is one of the bluest varieties.

Color: silver-blue foliage and flower
Bloom period: summer-fall
Height: to 2 ft (60 cm)

Sea holly has an extensive root system, so it is sometimes used for erosion control. Both the foliage and the flowers are dried for use in dried flower arrangements. Deer tend to dislike Eryngium.

Sea holly has a long tap root, which makes transplanting difficult. Place seedlings in their permanent location for best results.

Light: full sun
Soil: sandy to average
Water: well-drained to dry
Hardiness Zone: 5 – 9

This plant prefers a light, well-drained soil. It can grow in nutritionally poor soil and in salty conditions. It tolerate drought conditions easily once it is established.

Sea holly can be propagated by division in early spring or in fall, if disturbance is kept to a minimum. Root cuttings can be taken in autumn or winter.

Seed can be sown when it ripens in early fall. They do best if placed on the surface of well-drained compost in a cold frame. Seed can germinate in as little as five days or as long as ninety days. Seedlings should be set out the following spring after the last frost.

Alpine Sea Holly (Eryngium Alpinum) - This is found in the alpine pastures of Switzerland, and when well grown is not surpassed in beauty by any plant. The involucres, as well as the stems, are of a fine blue, and its flower-stems, about 2 feet high, arise during July and August.

Amethyst Sea Holly (Eryngium Amethystinum) - This has been confounded with the much more robust E. Oliverianum, although they have little in common. E. amethystinum rarely exceeds 1 foot to 1 1/2 feet in height, is of a somewhat straggling habit, and has flower heads and stems of the finest amethyst blue. It can be increased by division, and easily raised from seed. Dalmatia and Croatia.

Giant Sea Holly (Eryngium Giganteum) - This is an excellent plant for grouping, and a picturesque object, growing from 3 to 4 feet high, with stout stems and deeply-lobed, spiny, glaucous leaves. The involucre, of eight to nine large, oval, spiny leaves, pale grey or glaucous, is very effective. Caucasian Alps and Armenia.

Common Sea Holly (Eryngium Maritimum) - This native plant (Mertensia maritima) is a very pretty kind, requiring no special culture. It is one of the most glaucous of the species, flowering from July to October, and grows from 6 inches to 1 1/2 feet high.

Olivers Sea Holly (Eryngium Oliverianum) - This is of easy cultivation, and the abundance of its highly colored flower-heads makes it attractive in the flower-heads makes it attractive in the flower border. It grows 2 to 3 feet and often 4 feet in height. The ten to twelve bracts composing the involucre are longer than the head of flowers, and have about half a dozen teeth on each side. It ripens seed freely, and in this way it may be readily increased. S. Europe.

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