Sea lavender

Carolina sealavender (Limonium carolinianum) is a perennial herb of salt marshes from Florida to Texas to Quebec to Labrador/Newfoundland. It blooms throughout the year in southern central Florida and South Florida and in spring/summer in cooler climates.

At the Toni Robinson Waterfront Trail, an Indian River Land Trust property, it was full of flowers on 1-28-2023 …

This highly salt tolerant plant also grows on the mosquito control dikes at the Oslo Riverfront Conservation Area and throughout Indian River County. Its flowers are held in diffuse multi-branched flower stalks (panicles). Individual flowers are tiny: About 1/8″. But, the stalks can be 2′ tall.

The “mother” plant is about 2 – 4″ tall. The leaves are lanceolate or ovate. They are rather succulent and grow in full sun or light shade..

Other common names for this plant include lavender thrift, marsh rosemary, and sea lavender It is a member of the plumbago family, Plumbaginaceae. The genus name Limonium means meadow, and the species name carolinianum means of the Carolinas.

The tiny hermaphroditic flowers are visited by bees and likely are self-pollinating. The fruit is a dry capsule.