Limonium carolinianum (Walter) Britton

Carolina sea-lavender, canker root, ink root, marsh root, lavender thrift, American thrift, seaside thrift

Two sea-lavenders (Limonium species), easily distinguished by their ranges

	You are here Limonium carolinianum	Limonium perezii
Common Name	Carolina sea-lavender	sea lavender
Plant	Plants are 1–3′ (30–91 cm) × 1–2′ (30–60 cm). From a distance, when blooming, they look like sprays of pale purplish tumbleweed.	Herbaceous perennial up to 3′ (1 m) in size.
Leaves	Basal rosettes 1¾–10″ (5–25 cm) around (rarely up to 1′ (40 cm). Leaves are spatulate, obovate, or elliptic. They are 1¾–6″ (5–15 cm) × ⅛–1¾″ (5–50 mm), leathery in texture, with smooth edges and sharp tips.	A basal rosette. Leaves are thick, somewhat wavy, oval to round, up to 1½–6″ (4–15 cm) × ⅞–2½″ (2.5–7 cm). Each leaf’s petiole (stem) is longer than the leaf.
Flowers	Large intricately branched inflorescences contain hundreds of diminutive flowers. Each flower is 1/16–⅛″ (2–3 mm) in size, with five petals and five stamens, and blue to purple, or rarely white. Flowers appear from June to December.	A multiply-branched panicle 6–18″ (15–45 cm) in size. Each flower has lavender [Glosssary(sepals)] and white petals. Branchlets supporting flowers are winged. Each flower has a funnel-shaped blue-purple calyx with a deep purple center ⅜″ (1 cm) in size, and a white flower. From a distance, the blue-purple color dominates. Flowers appear from March to September.
Fruit	Tiny seeds.	Inconspicuous.
Range/ Zones	USDA Zones: 4-9
Habitats	Native to salt marshes along the entire east coast of North America, including Canada and Mexico. It prefers brackish or salt marshes and flats, coastal beaches, marshes, and intertidal ocean areas.	Along the California coast, in disturbed coastal areas, cliffs, sand dunes, and roadsides, at elevations below 328′ (100 m)

Limonium carolinianum description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.