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Plumbaginaceae
Sea Thrift
Armeria maritima
Sympathy, enduring affection, coastal life.
- Family
- Plumbaginaceae
- Genus
- Armeria
- Native to
- Coastal Europe, North America
- Bloom season
- Late Spring, Early Summer
- Type
- Tufted perennial
- Height
- 15–30 cm
- Sunlight
- Full sun
- Soil
- Sandy, sharply drained, salt-tolerant
- Water
- Low
- Hardiness
- 3–9
- Lifespan
- Long-lived perennial
Did you know
- Sea thrift forms tight grass-like cushions on sea cliffs, dunes, and salt marshes where almost nothing else can survive — its tolerance for salt spray is legendary.
- It's the official county flower of the Isles of Scilly off the southwestern coast of England, where it carpets cliff tops every May.
- The plant appeared on the British 12-sided three-penny coin from 1937 to 1971 — the only flower to grace a UK circulation coin in modern times.
- Each pom-pom flower head is actually a tight cluster of dozens of tiny flowers, balanced on a thin wiry stem.
- Sea thrift accumulates lead, zinc, and copper from contaminated soils, and is sometimes planted on old mine sites for phytoremediation.
Color meanings
Pink
Quiet companionship