Eryngium castrense
Encyclopedia
Eryngium castrense is a species of flowering plant in the carrot family
known by the common name Great Valley eryngo, or Great Valley button celery. This plant is endemic to California
, where it grows in wet areas such as vernal pool
s and ponds in the central part of the state. This is a heavily branched, spiny perennial
herb
reaching maximum heights of around half a meter. It produces light green to grayish green hairless stems with occasional lobed, oval-shaped leaves. At the tops of the stems are flower heads
one to one and a half centimeters wide and rounded or egg-shaped. At the base of each head is an array of 7 to 9 spiny, pointed bract
s up to three centimeters long, and sometimes a few smaller bractlets above. The rounded flower head contains many small white to light purple flowers.
Apiaceae
The Apiaceae , commonly known as carrot or parsley family, is a group of mostly aromatic plants with hollow stems. The family is large, with more than 3,700 species spread across 434 genera, it is the sixteenth largest family of flowering plants...
known by the common name Great Valley eryngo, or Great Valley button celery. This plant is endemic to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, where it grows in wet areas such as vernal pool
Vernal pool
Vernal pools, also called vernal ponds or ephemeral pools, are temporary pools of water. They are usually devoid of fish, and thus allow the safe development of natal amphibian and insect species...
s and ponds in the central part of the state. This is a heavily branched, spiny perennial
Perennial plant
A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives for more than two years. The term is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter lived annuals and biennials. The term is sometimes misused by commercial gardeners or horticulturalists to describe only herbaceous perennials...
herb
Herbaceous
A herbaceous plant is a plant that has leaves and stems that die down at the end of the growing season to the soil level. They have no persistent woody stem above ground...
reaching maximum heights of around half a meter. It produces light green to grayish green hairless stems with occasional lobed, oval-shaped leaves. At the tops of the stems are flower heads
Pseudanthium
A pseudanthium or flower head is a special type of inflorescence, in which several flowers are grouped together to form a flower-like structure. The real flowers are generally small and greatly reduced, but can sometimes be quite large...
one to one and a half centimeters wide and rounded or egg-shaped. At the base of each head is an array of 7 to 9 spiny, pointed bract
Bract
In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis, or cone scale. Bracts are often different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of a different color, shape, or texture...
s up to three centimeters long, and sometimes a few smaller bractlets above. The rounded flower head contains many small white to light purple flowers.