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Magnoliopsida
Limonium
EOL Text
Many populations of rock sea-lavender in the UK are not under any immediate threat. However, some may be vulnerable to trampling (4), while several dune-slack, sea-wall and cliff populations are known to have been lost, at least temporarily, as a result of dune movements, the construction of new sea defences and coastal landslips (7). Many colonies are small (which increases their vulnerability), and collecting is thought to have posed a threat to a few species (particularly L. recurvum) in the past (4).
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Rights holder/Author | Copyright Wildscreen 2003-2008 |
Source | http://www.arkive.org/rock-sea-lavenders-(endemic)/limonium-spp/ |
Many populations occur within Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs), and two populations of L. parvum occur within National Nature Reserves (NNRs) (2). Together, the Botanical Society of the British Isles (BSBI) and the National Trust coordinate the conservation actions outlined in the UK Biodiversity Action Plan for Britain's endemic rock sea-lavenders (2). The BSBI have carried out an extensive mapping scheme, which will be of enormous help as it will allow areas needing further research to be prioritised and will also aid in the initiation of a monitoring programme (2).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Copyright Wildscreen 2003-2008 |
Source | http://www.arkive.org/rock-sea-lavenders-(endemic)/limonium-spp/ |
Limonium is a genus of 120 flower species. Members are also known as sea-lavender, statice, or marsh-rosemary. Despite their common names, species are not related to the lavenders or to rosemary. They are instead in Plumbaginaceae, the plumbago or leadwort family. The generic name is from the Latin līmōnion, used by Pliny for a wild plant and is ultimately derived from the Ancient Greek leimon (λειμών, ‘meadow’).[1]
The genus has a subcosmopolitan distribution in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and North America. By far the greatest diversity (over 100 species) is in the area stretching from the Canary Islands east through the Mediterranean region to central Asia; for comparison, North America only has three native Limonium species.[2]
Sea-lavenders normally grow as herbaceous perennial plants, growing 10–70 cm tall from a rhizome; a few (mainly from the Canary Islands) are woody shrubs up to 2 metres tall. Many species flourish in saline soils, and are therefore common near coasts and in salt marshes, and also on saline, gypsum and alkaline soils in continental interiors.
The leaves are simple, entire to lobed, and from 1–30 cm long and 0.5–10 cm broad; most of the leaves are produced in a dense basal rosette, with the flowering stems bearing only small brown scale-leaves (bracts). The flowers are produced on a branched panicle or corymb, the individual flowers small (4–10 mm long) with a five-lobed calyx and corolla, and five stamens; the flower colour is pink or violet to purple in most species, white or yellow in a few. Many of the species are apomictic. The fruit is a small capsule containing a single seed, partly enclosed by the persistent calyx.
Several species are popular garden flowers; they are generally known to gardeners as statices. They are grown both for their flowers and for the appearance of the calyx, which remains on the plant after the true flowers have fallen, and are known as "everlasting flowers".
Species[edit]
There are between 120-150 species in the genus, many of them local endemic species with a very restricted range. Species not given a common name here are generally referred to simply as "sea-lavender", "statice," or "marsh-rosemary".
- Limonium aragonense (Monegros, endemic)
- Limonium arborescens (Tree Limonium; Tenerife, endemic)
- Limonium aureum (central Asia: Siberia, Mongolia, northwest China)
- Limonium auriculaeursifolium (Alderney sea-lavender; southwest Europe, northwest Africa)
- Limonium australe (Australia)
- Limonium bellidifolium (matted sea-lavender; Europe, southwest Asia)
- Limonium bicolor (Mongolia, northwest China)
- Limonium binervosum (rock sea-lavender; western Europe)
- Limonium bourgaei (Lanzarote, endemic)
- Limonium brassicifolium (Canary Islands)
- Limonium caesium (western Mediterranean)
- Limonium californicum (California sea-lavender; western North America, Oregon to Baja California)
- Limonium callianthum (western China: Xinjiang)
- Limonium cancelatum (eastern Mediterranean Croatia)
- Limonium carolinianum (Carolina sea-lavender; eastern North America, Newfoundland to Bermuda, Florida and Tamaulipas; syn. L. angustatum, L. nashii)
- Limonium caspium (central Europe east to central Asia)
- Limonium chrysocomum (central Asia)
- Limonium confusum (western Mediterranean)
- Limonium congestum (central Asia)
- Limonium coralloides (central Asia)
- Limonium cordatum (central Mediterranean)
- Limonium cosyrense (eastern Mediterranean)
- Limonium delicatulum (western Mediterranean)
- Limonium dichroanthum (central Asia)
- Limonium dielsianum (western China: Gansu, Qinghai)
- Limonium dregeanum (Natal statice; South Africa)
- Limonium echioides (Mediterranean)
- Limonium emarginatum (southern Spain)
- Limonium ferulaceum (western Mediterranean)
- Limonium flexuosum (central Asia)
- Limonium franchetii (east coastal China)
- Limonium fruticans (Tenerife, endemic)
- Limonium gmelinii (eastern Europe, northern Asia, Siberia)
- Limonium gougetianum (western Mediterranean)
- Limonium humile (lax-flowered sea-lavender; northwest Europe)
- Limonium imbricatum (Tenerife, endemic)
- Limonium insigne (southeast Spain, endemic)
- Limonium kaschgaricum (central Asia)
- Limonium iranicum (Iran)[3]
- Limonium lacostei (western China, Tibet, Kashmir)
- Limonium latifolium (German statice; central and southeast Europe)
- Limonium leptolobum (central Asia)
- Limonium leptostachyum (statice; central Asia)
- Limonium lilacinum (central Turkey, endemic)
- Limonium limbatum (Transpecos sea-lavender; interior southwest United States)
- Limonium macrophyllum (Tenerife)
- Limonium macropterum (Canary Islands)
- Limonium macrorhabdos (Ladakh)
- Limonium minutum (southeast France, endemic)
- Limonium mouretii (Morocco)
- Limonium myrianthum (central Asia)
- Limonium narbonense (Southern Europe, North Africa, Southwest Asia)
- Limonium ornatum (Morocco)
- Limonium otolepis (Saltmarsh sea-lavender; southwest and central Asia)
- Limonium paradoxum (Great Britain, Ireland,[4] endemic)
- Limonium paulayanum (Yemen, endemic)
- Limonium pectinatum (Canary Islands)
- Limonium peregrinum (South Africa)
- Limonium perezii (Perez's sea-lavender; Canary Islands)
- Limonium potaninii (western China: Sichuan, Qinghai, Gansu)
- Limonium preauxii (Canary Islands)
- Limonium puberulum (Canary Islands)
- Limonium ramosissimum (Mediterranean)
- Limonium reniforme (kidneyleaf sea-lavender; Iran)
- Limonium rezniczenkoanum (central Asia)
- Limonium sieberi (eastern Mediterranean)
- Limonium sinense (eastern Asia coasts: China, Ryukyu Islands, Vietnam)
- Limonium sinuatum (wavyleaf sea-lavender; Mediterranean)
- Limonium sokotranum (Yemen, endemic)
- Limonium solanderi (Australia)
- Limonium spathulatum (Mediterranean)
- Limonium spectabile (Canary islands)
- Limonium strictissimum (Mediterranean: France, Italy)
- Limonium suffruticosum (western and central Asia)
- Limonium tenellum (Mongolia, northwest China)
- Limonium tetragonum (autumn statice or square-stem statice; eastern Asia south to New Caledonia)
- Limonium thouinii (Mediterranean)
- Limonium tomentellum (Black Sea region)
- Limonium virgatum (western Mediterranean)
- Limonium vulgare (common sea-lavender; western Europe, northwest Africa)
- Limonium wrightii (Japan, Taiwan)
Some species formerly included in Limonium, e.g. L. tataricum, have now been transferred to the separate genus Goniolimon.
Sources[edit]
- ^ "limonium". Oxford English Dictionary (3rd ed.). Oxford University Press. September 2005.
- ^ Flora of North America
- ^ Mozaffarian, V. 1996. A dictionary of Iranian plant names: Latin, English, Persian. Tehran: Farhang-e Moʻaser.
- ^ Flora Europaea
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Wikipedia |
Source | http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Limonium&oldid=633320854 |
In 1986 the taxonomy of the rock sea-lavenders was revised (6), nine species are now recognised, along with a large number of subspecies (2). However, the species are notoriously difficult to tell apart (2). Although there is some geographical separation of the various species and subspecies, this is by no means an accurate or reliable method of distinguishing between them (2). Indeed, there are a number of 'hot spot' areas where one can find several species or sub-species growing together (e.g. on the Carboniferous limestone of south Pembrokeshire, the cliffs of Quaternary head deposits of south Devon, and the chalk and limestone cliffs of Dorset). Rock-sea lavenders are perennial, and reproduce asexually through a process known as 'apomixis'. Flowers are produced from June to September (5).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Copyright Wildscreen 2003-2008 |
Source | http://www.arkive.org/rock-sea-lavenders-(endemic)/limonium-spp/ |
The rock sea-lavenders comprise a group of closely related, beautiful (1) and delicate (2) plants that have cushions of leaves close to the ground, from which arise branched flowering stems that may be delicate or robust, short or tall, but in all cases support numerous spikes of attractive bluish-lilac coloured flowers (1)(2). In high summer, when flowering en masse, these plants can give a striking purplish 'haze' to the places in which they grow. Almost all of the species that occur in Britain and Ireland are endemics; they are found no-where else in the world (1).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Copyright Wildscreen 2003-2008 |
Source | http://www.arkive.org/rock-sea-lavenders-(endemic)/limonium-spp/ |
Current knowledge of the distribution of our endemic rock sea-lavenders is patchy (3). L. paradoxum, L. parvum, and L. transwallianum are all restricted to Pembrokeshire. L. britannicum and L. procerum are fairly widespread along the western coast of Britain, and L. procerum also occurs on the east coast of Ireland (7). L. dodartiforme is confined to Dorset, L. loganicum is known only from Cornwall, and populations of L. recurvum occur in Dorset, Cumberland and Wigtownshire (4). L. binervosum is not endemic to the UK; it is also known from parts of Europe (5), but four subspecies of binervosum are endemic to Britain and Ireland (7).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Copyright Wildscreen 2003-2008 |
Source | http://www.arkive.org/rock-sea-lavenders-(endemic)/limonium-spp/ |
Depth range based on 8 specimens in 2 taxa.
Environmental ranges
Depth range (m): 1 - 1
Note: this information has not been validated. Check this *note*. Your feedback is most welcome.
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Rights holder/Author | Ocean Biogeographic Information System |
Source | http://www.iobis.org/mapper/?taxon_id=774371 |
Rock sea-lavenders are exclusively coastal, inhabiting rocky cliffs and ledges, stabilised shingle, dune-slacks, the upper edges of saltmarshes and even sea walls (1).
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | Copyright Wildscreen 2003-2008 |
Source | http://www.arkive.org/rock-sea-lavenders-(endemic)/limonium-spp/ |
Foodplant / feeds on
larva of Apion limonii feeds on Limonium
Plant / associate
adult of Conostethus brevis is associated with Limonium
Remarks: season: 7
Foodplant / sap sucker
adult of Conostethus griseus sucks sap of Limonium
Other: major host/prey
Plant / resting place / on
adult of Cryptocephalus bilineatus may be found on Limonium
Remarks: season: (5-)6-9
In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Foodplant / parasite
sporangium of Peronospora statices parasitises live Limonium
License | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/ |
Rights holder/Author | BioImages, BioImages - the Virtual Fieldguide (UK) |
Source | http://www.bioimages.org.uk/html/Limonium.htm |
Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) Stats
Specimen Records:102
Specimens with Sequences:89
Specimens with Barcodes:61
Species:46
Species With Barcodes:42
Public Records:61
Public Species:32
Public BINs:0