Sea lavender
Sea lavender grows on sandy marshes. At the end of July and the beginning of August, the marshes turn purple and lilac from the flowering sea lavender and pink from the thrift. One finds sea lavender on all of the Wadden Islands and in the delta region. It also grows scattered along the coasts of Groningen, Friesland and North Holland. Flowers from cultivated forms of sea lavender are popular as dried flowers. In Zeeland, young sea aster leaves are sold under the name 'sea lavender' as a vegetable. However, young sea lavender leaves are definitely not very edible for people.
Sea lavender is found along the southern and western European coasts. In the north, the plant is found as far as Northern England and the Swedish west coast. It is also called 'Zeeuw's heather'. Because sea lavender often blossoms massively, it is easy to imagine being in a field of heather during the flowering period.
The plant has salt glands underneathe the leaf, with which excess salt is excreted. There are around 600 of these glands per square centimeter. The salt crystals can be seen on a sunny day.
Sea lavender is important for various organisms. Plume moths use the plant as a source of food for the caterpillars. The Apion limonii beetle lives especially on sea lavender. Furthermore, there are certain species of pirate bugs and aphids are dependent upon sea lavender. Sea lavender is also important as a nectar plant for many species of butterflies. Mildew and rust, two kinds of fungi, can threaten the plant.
Names:
Dut: Lamsoor, Zwinneblomme
Lat: Limonium vulgare
Eng: Sea Lavender
Fren: Limonium vulgaire; Statice vulgaire
Ger: Strandflieder, Widerstoss
Dan: Hindebæger
Source: de Vleet, Ecomare
