sea holly

Eryngium undulatum | sea holly

 

Just like many great groundcovers, this small herb finds its niche where others might falter. Whether it's the salt-laden wind blasting a coastal headland or periodic flooding clearing out competition along a lake's edge, the pricky sea holly seizes these opportunities to thrive. You'll especially notice its resilience in coastal turf communities, where it flourishes in the most exposed positions alongside other unique plants from these increasingly rare ecosystems. While rare in nurseries it can be propogated resposibly from spiny mericarps which are typically are dispersed by attachment and wind.