878 



THE NATURE BOOK 



SEA LAVENDER 



The Sea Lavender {Limonium vulgarc) 

 belongs to the same family as the Thritt, 

 and it formerly used to bear the name of 

 Statice when the Thrift was called Armeria. 

 Most people will know this plant, or some 

 of its congeners ; many of them are grown 



stalked and vary very much in size, 

 attaining a length sometimes of nearly a 

 foot, they \'ary also in width, some 

 being narrow and others broad. The 

 forked flower stem rises erect from the 

 root and is generally much branched. 

 The flowers arc very numerous, of a 



SEA LAVENDER. 



in gardens, and form a welcome addition 

 to the flower b(jrders because of the 

 lavender tint of the heads of flowers. 

 These are of a dry nature, and conse- 

 quently retain their form and colour for 

 many montlis, and help to decorate the 

 winter bouquets. 



The rootstock is sometimes very thick, 

 and rather fleshy ; the leaves are all 



l)luish ])ur})le colour. The upper part of 

 the calyx is also tinted with })urple, and 

 after the blossoms have been out for some 

 little time, the calyx expands and be- 

 comes enlarged, so that it may be mis- 

 taken for the true corolla. The Sea 

 Lavender flowers during July and August. 

 The flowering period would seem to be 

 longer because of the peculiarity just 



