Rewilding My Lot

I picked up a few Leavenworth’s Eryngo (Eryngium leavenworthii) seeds at a Native Plant Society of Texas meeting last year and scattered them without knowing how they’d do, or even what the plants would look like. I have now found at least two in the back yard, and one is already flowering. I had no idea what a stunning color they would be!

My botany knowledge is not great, but I have at least learned that the “heads” of this plant are actually groups of tightly clustered blossoms with a ring of bracts (modified leaves) below and a tuft of spiny leaves above. I saw a few places where they were described as resembling small fuzzy pineapples!

Eryngos are not true thistles, although they are often mistaken for them because of their similar appearance and habitat.

Almost the entire plant has some shade of purple (including the stems!). Here are some photos showing how the color progresses (for each flower head, this occurs from the bottom up). I hope that next year I’ll have more of these — I imagine that a cluster of them would look quite spectacular.