Eryngium bourgatii, the Mediterranean sea holly (also known as Pyrenean eryngo), is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae native to Andorra, France and Spain, as well as parts of the Levant, Morocco and Turkey.[1] It is an herbaceous perennial, growing to 15–45 cm (6–18 in) tall. The spherical, blue flowerheads have typically spiny bracts.[2]
| Eryngium bourgatii | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification 
| |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Asterids |
| Order: | Apiales |
| Family: | Apiaceae |
| Genus: | Eryngium |
| Species: | E. bourgatii
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| Binomial name | |
| Eryngium bourgatii | |
The species was named after a French medical doctor named Bourgat who collected plants in the Pyrenees in the company of Antoine Gouan, the author of the species, between 1766 and 1767.[3]
Eryngium bourgatii is fairly common in Spain, where it may be found growing as far south as Andalucía and further inland in Castile and León, as well as in the Community of Madrid and in Extremadura, among other locations.[4] However, the plant is mostly found within the Pyrenees and in Spain's northern coastal regions[4]—hence the common name Pyrenean eryngo—where it is known from eastern Galicia and Asturias through Cantabria and the Basque Country, eastward into Andorra and some inland parts of Catalonia.[4] In Southwestern France, it grows throughout the Pyrenees, straddling the Spanish-French border and growing on either side.[4]
Numerous cultivars have been produced within the horticultural and plant trades, of which 'Oxford Blue' has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[5][6]
References
edit- ^ "Eryngium bourgatii". Germplasm Resources Information Network. Agricultural Research Service, United States Department of Agriculture. Retrieved 25 January 2018.
- ^ RHS A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 978-1405332965.
- ^ Allen J. Coombes (2012). The A to Z of Plant Names: A Quick Reference Guide to 4000 Garden Plants (1st ed.). Timber Press. p. 135. ISBN 978-1-60469-196-2.
- ^ a b c d "Observations • iNaturalist". iNaturalist.org. Retrieved 3 June 2024.
- ^ "Eryngium bourgatii 'Oxford Blue'". RHS. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
- ^ "AGM Plants - Ornamental" (PDF). Royal Horticultural Society. July 2017. p. 36. Retrieved 18 February 2018.
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