Eryngium maritimum

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Eryngium maritimum
Light:Full Sun
Moisture:Xeric Mesic
Hardiness:5
Soil pH:5.6-8.4
Evergreen Self Pollinated
Height:1'
Width:1'
Blooms:Mid Summer-Mid Fall
Native to:
Shelter
Edible Rating:PFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility RatingPFAF Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating:PFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal RatingPFAF Medicinal Rating
Tea:Yes
Poisonous

Eryngium maritimum (common name: sea holly)

Propagation: Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in early autumn on the surface of a well-drained compost in a cold frame[1]. The seed can also be sown in spring. Germination can be very slow[2], although another report says that the seed usually germinates in 5 - 90 days at 20°c. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts.

Division in early spring or autumn. Take care since the plant resents root disturbance[1].

Root cuttings in autumn or winter[1].

Cultivation: Requires a deep well-drained soil and a sunny position[3]. Prefers a light sandy saline soil but tolerates most soil types including lime and poor gravels[1][4]. Plants are best grown in a hot dry position[5][6]. Established plants are drought tolerant[7].

Plants are hardy to about -15°c[5].

Sea holly has very long roots that penetrate deeply in the soil and are often several feet long[2]. These roots are sweetly scented[8]. The plant should be placed in its final position whilst small since it resents root disturbance[1].

Although a sea-shore plant, it is amenable to garden cultivation[2].

A good bee plant[9].

Range: European coasts, including Britain, from Scandanavia to the Mediterraneanand Baltic, and Black Sea

Habitat: Sea shores, preferring sand and shingle whilst avoiding acid soils[10].

Edibility: Young shoots - cooked[11][12][13]. They are normally blanched by excluding light from the growing plant, and are then used as an asparagus substitute[14][15][16]. They are said to be palatable and nourishing[2].

Root - cooked[14]. Used as a vegetable or candied and used as a sweetmeat[17][13][15]. Palatable and nutritious[2], it is slightly sweet and smells of carrots[18]. The boiled or roasted roots are said to resemble parsnips or chestnuts in flavour[14][16].

Medicinal: Sea holly roots were collected on a large scale in the 17th and 18th centuries in England and were candied then used as restorative, quasi-aphrodisiac lozenges[19]. The plant is still used in modern herbalism where it is valued especially for its diuretic action[20].

The root is to be aphrodisiac, aromatic, diaphoretic, diuretic, expectorant, stimulant and tonic[2][21][1]. The root promotes free expectoration and is very useful in the treatment of debility attendant on coughs of chronic standing in the advanced stages of pulmonary consumption[2]. It is used in the treatment of cystitis, urethritis, as a means to alleviate kidney stones (it is unlikely that it dissolves the stones, but it probably helps to retard their formation), and to treat enlargement or inflammation of the prostate gland[20]. Drunk freely, it is used to treat diseases of the liver and kidneys[2][19]. Used externally as a poultice, the dried powdered root aids tissue regeneration[4]. The root should be harvested in the autumn from plants that are at least 2 years old[2].

Usage: The extensive root system helps to bind sand on the sea shore[18].

Pollinators: Bees, flies, beetles

Soil: Can grow in light and medium soils.

Drainage: Prefers well drained soil.

Wind: Tolerates maritime wind exposure

In Leaf: Evergreen

Flower Type: Hermaphrodite

Links

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 Huxley, Anthony. The New Royal Horticultural Society Dictionary of Gardening. MacMillan Press, 1992.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 Grieve, Margaret. A Modern Herbal. Penguin, 1984.
  3. ↑ Chittendon, Fred. RHS Dictionary of Plants. Oxford University Press, 1951.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Stuart, Malcolm. The Encyclopedia of Herbs and Herbalism. Orbis Publishing, 1979.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Phillips, Roger and Martyn Rix. Perennials - The Definitve Reference. Pan Books, 1991.
  6. ↑ Thomas, Graham. Perennial Garden Plants. J. M. Dent & Sons, 1990.
  7. ↑ Chatto, Beth. The Damp Garden. Dent, 1982.
  8. ↑ Genders, Roy. Scented Flora of the World. Robert Hale, 1994.
  9. ↑ International Bee Research Association. Garden Plants Valuable to Bees. International Bee Research Association, 1981.
  10. ↑ Clapham, Arthur and Tom Tootin, Edmund Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press, 1962.
  11. ↑ Uphof, Johannes. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim, 1959.
  12. ↑ Usher, George. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable, 1974.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Freethy, Ron. From Agar to Zenery. The Crowood Press, 1985.
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Hedrick, Ulysses. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications, 1972.
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Sowerby, John. The Useful Plants of Great Britain. 1862.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Facciola, Stephen. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications, 1990.
  17. ↑ Mabey, Richard. Food for Free. Collins, 1974.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Triska, Jan. Encyclopaedia of Plants. Hamlyn, 1975.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 Bown, Deni. Royal Horticultural Society Encyclopaedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Dorling Kindersley, 1995.
  20. ↑ 20.0 20.1 Chevallier, Andrew. The Encyclopedia of Medicinal Plants. Dorling Kindersley, 1996.
  21. ↑ Mills, Simon. The Dictionary of Modern Herbalism.


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