E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Armeria maritima (Mill.) Willd. subsp. maritima
thrift (European thrift; sea-pink)
Plumbaginaceae (Leadwort family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

© Rosemary Taylor  Email the photographer   (Photo ID #20413)

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Distribution of Armeria maritima subsp. maritima
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Species Information

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PDPLU01017
PDPLU01016


General:
Perennial herb from a taproot; stems erect, solitary or several, simple, smooth, 10-50 cm tall.
Leaves:
Basal leaves linear, smooth to fringed and hairy, entire, 5-10 cm long, 1-3 mm wide, persistent, stem leaves lacking.
Flowers:
Inflorescence of dense, head-like flower clusters, 1.5-3 cm wide; flowers short-stalked in clusters of 3, subtended by 2 transparent bracts; corollas pinkish to lavender, deeply 5-lobed; calyces pinkish to lavender, 5-6 mm long, soft-hairy, 10 veined, longer than the corollas; outer involucral bracts purplish with papery margins.
Fruits:
Utricles, small, dry, 1-chambered; seeds 1.
Notes:
Two subspecies are recognized in BC:

1. Outer involucral bracts narrowly tapered or awl-shaped, surpassing the inner ones; leaves smooth......................... ssp. californica (Boiss.) Porsild

1. Outer involucral bracts egg-shaped to rounded, usually shorter than the inner ones; leaves usually minutely fringed below..................... ssp. sibirica (Turcz. ex Boiss.) Nyman

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Habitat / Range

Moist to mesic beaches and coastal bluffs in the lowland zone; infrequent along the coast, absent from the Queen Charlotte Islands; ssp. sibirica - N to AK and S to WA, ssp. californica - from Vancouver Island to CA.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Additional Photo Sources

General References