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Native Plant Society of Texas

Leavenworth Eryngo

Eryngium leavenworthii

Apiaceae (Carrot Family)

Eryngo, False Purple Thistle

Photo Credit: Paul Montgomery
Photo Credit: Paul Montgomery
Photo Credit: Claire Sorenson
Photo Credit: Claire Sorenson
Photo Credit: Claire Sorenson
Photo Credit: Claire Sorenson
Photo Credit: Claire Sorenson
Photo Credit: Claire Sorenson
Phot Credit: Paul Montgomery
Phot Credit: Paul Montgomery

Plant Ecoregion Distribution Map

Native Habitat: Grassland, Woodland
Cross Timbers, Edwards Plateau, Texas Blackland Prairies

Maintenance

It is desirable to wear a thick pair of gloves if one cuts the flowers to protect hands from sharp spines.

Comments

Splashing fields with brilliant purple, it provides an excellent source for late summer and early fall color. Eryngo is an unusual prickly annual with a leafy stem and broadly branched upper portion. Most of the plant is some shade of purple. Flowers are minute, purple, and mingled with small, spiny bracts in an elongated, terminal, head-like cluster. The leaves are deeply lobed and tipped with stiff spines.

Growth Form

Herbaceous

Height

1 to
3 ft

Spread

1 to
2 ft

Soil Type(s)

Sand, Loam, Clay, Caliche, Calcareous, Moist, Dry

Light Requirement

Sun, Part Shade

Water Requirement

Low

Leaf Retention

Deciduous

Lifespan

Annual

Bloom Color

Purple

Bloom Season

Summer

Seasonal Interest

Seeds, Nectar

Wildlife Benefit

Butterflies, Birds, Bees

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References

1) Griffith, Bryce, Omernick & Rodgers (2007). Ecoregions of Texas. 2) Wasowski and Wasowski, Native Texas Plants Landscaping Region by Region, 1991, pg. 151. 3) https://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=ERLE11. 4) http://bonap.net/TDC/Image/Map?taxonType=Species&taxonId=1065&locationType=County&mapType=Normal. 5) https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=29494#null

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Contact Us

State Office Phone: 830.997.9272

State Office Address:
Native Plant Society of Texas
PO Box 3017
Fredericksburg, TX 78624

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