Eryngo (Eryngium leavenworthii)
Description: Leavenworth’s eryngo is a prickly, 20-40 in. annual with a leafy stem, broadly branched in the upper portion. Almost the entire plant has some shade of purple. Flowers are minute, purple, and mingled with small, spiny bracts in an elongated, terminal, head-like cluster. These are subtended by conspicuous spiny-tipped bracts. The leaves are deeply lobed, each segment edged and tipped with stiff spines. A tuft of small, rigid, spiny leaves grows out of the top of the flower head. It is desirable to wear a thick pair of gloves if one cuts the flowers. The eryngos are not true thistles and are often confused with thistles, due to similarity in both appearance and habitat preference. Splashing fields a brilliant purple, it provides an excellent source for late summer and early fall color.
Family: Apiaceae
Synonym(s): Leavenworth’s eryngo, Eryngo, False purple thistle
USDA Symbol: ERLE11
Duration: Annual
Habit: Herb
Size Class: 1-3 ft.
Bloom Color: Blue, Purple
Bloom Time: Jul, Aug, Sep
Water Use: Low
Light Requirements: Sun
Soil Moisture: Moist
Bloom Notes: Leavenworths eryngo is a prickly annual with a leafy stem, broadly branched in the upper portion. The strange-looking eryngo is deer-resistant and geometric in form. This plant is very showy and interesting but has purple, alien-like flowers with tough, thorny leaves.
ATTRIBUTION: All of the Texas Wildflower images in this post are copyrighted and are the exclusive property of Terry B. Kahler. Reproduction without explicit written consent is prohibited. Some of the information contained in this section was taken from the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center website and is being used under their terms of use. Redistribution from this site is prohibited. Additional information contained in this section was taken from the USDA website including the USDA code.
