Rock sea-lavender facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rock sea-lavender
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Plumbaginaceae
Genus:	Limonium
Species:	L. binervosum
Binomial name
Limonium binervosum (G.E.Sm.) C.E.Salmon
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The rock sea-lavender (scientific name: Limonium binervosum) is a pretty plant often found near the sea. It's part of a group of plants called "aggregate species," which means it's actually a collection of very similar types of plants that are hard to tell apart. It belongs to the Plumbaginaceae family, which includes other interesting plants like leadworts.

Even though its name has "lavender" in it, this plant is not related to the well-known lavender or rosemary plants. It's a perennial herb, meaning it lives for more than two years and has soft, non-woody stems. The rock sea-lavender has small, lovely violet-blue flowers. Each flower has five petals and they grow together in clusters.

Where Rock Sea-Lavender Lives

Eight different kinds of rock sea-lavender are special because they are found only in Great Britain and Guernsey. When a plant or animal is found only in one specific area, it's called "endemic" to that place. Scientists studied these plants in 1986 and decided to group them into different subspecies.

This plant can grow to be about 10 to 70 centimeters (4 to 28 inches) tall. It grows from a special underground stem called a rhizome. Rock sea-lavender loves to grow in salty soils, which is why you often see it near western coasts and in salt marshes. It also grows well in soils that are salty, have gypsum (a soft mineral), or are alkaline (the opposite of acidic). A good example of where it thrives is on Flat Holm island in Wales, UK.

Different Kinds of Rock Sea-Lavender

Rock sea-lavender growing on Flat Holm island in the UK.

Because rock sea-lavender is an "aggregate species," it means there are several very similar types of this plant. These are called subspecies. Here are some of the known subspecies:

• Limonium binervosum subsp. anglicum
• Limonium binervosum subsp. cantianum
• Limonium binervosum subsp. saxonicum
• Limonium britanicum subsp. britanicum
• Limonium britanicum subsp. combense
• Limonium binervosum subsp. pseudotranswallianum
• Limonium dodartiforme
• Limonium loganicum
• Limonium recurvum

See also

In Spanish: Limonium binervosum para niños