Common sea-lavender, Limonium vulgare, is a flowering plant that grows in salt marshes and other maritime habitats along the Atlantic coast of Europe. It is a clumping perennial in the family Plumbaginaceae, and its native range runs from southwestern Sweden to southwestern Iberia.
The name may cover more than one plant. Limonium vulgare is a probable species complex that includes Limonium maritimum and L. narbonense. Introduced populations also occur elsewhere, beyond its native Atlantic range.
Distribution and Habitat
Common sea-lavender grows across western Europe, from southwestern Sweden south to southwestern Iberia. Its native range includes Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Sweden, within a temperate climate.
It lives in salt marshes and other maritime habitats along the coast.
Observation records in the GBIF database peak in July and August and are sparsest from February to April.
Growth and Form
Common sea-lavender is a herbaceous perennial that grows in clumps rather than as a single upright stem.
Ecology and Relationships
Insects make up most of the flower visitors. Butterflies and moths of the order Lepidoptera and bees, wasps and their relatives in the order Hymenoptera are the main groups, with beetles of the order Coleoptera visiting less often.
The skipper butterfly Ochlodes venata stands out among the flower visitors. Bumblebees such as Bombus hortorum and the clouded yellow butterfly Colias croceus visit only occasionally.
Moths of the genus Acalyptris, including A. limonii and A. maritima, are among its parasites, though this is not a usual association.
Photos
Photographs from via iNaturalist, licensed under CC0 1.0., by Julia Henning via iNaturalist, licensed under CC BY 4.0., by Shane Austin via iNaturalist, licensed under CC BY 4.0., by Emil Jantke via iNaturalist, licensed under CC BY 4.0., by agujaceratops via iNaturalist, licensed under CC BY 4.0., by Thomas Gyselinck via iNaturalist, licensed under CC BY 4.0., by Timéo Gosciniak via iNaturalist, licensed under CC BY 4.0., by Vasco Henrique Oliveira Fonseca via iNaturalist, licensed under CC BY 4.0., and by Tristan Haab via iNaturalist, licensed under CC BY 4.0., credited on each photo.
Ecology and classification
Classification
- Phylum
- Tracheophyta
- Class
- Magnoliopsida
- Order
- Caryophyllales
- Family
- Plumbaginaceae
- Genus
- Limonium
- Species
- Limonium vulgare
Sources
- GBIF Species names and classification
- iNaturalist Photos
- Wikidata Common names and conservation status
- Wikipedia Summary extract
- Plants of the World Online Native range, life form and climate (WCVP)
- USDA Plants US plants: growth habit and growing conditions
- GloBI What it eats, what eats it, parasites and pollinators
- Wardeh et al. 2015 (EID2)
- DoPI
