Coastal Eryngo

Description

Eryngium armatum is a low perennial herb growing patches of thick green to yellow-green leaves, each long and straight, sometimes with serrated or toothed edges. Atop stout stems are inflorescences of spiky flower heads each nearly a centimeter wide. Each is surrounded by seven or eight long, sharp-pointed bracts about two centimeters long, and sometimes more layers of bractlets on top. The tiny white to purplish flowers are tucked between the layers of bracts.