Armeria maritima (sea thrift)

Armeria maritima (Mill.) Willd.

Sea thrift, sea pink, common thrift, thrift seapink

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Caryophyllidae	Cacti, many other succulents, carnivorous plants, and leadworts
Order	Plumbaginales	A relatively small order of shrubby or herbaceous plants
Family	Plumbaginaceae	Includes the leadwort and plumbago families
Genus	Armeria	Latinized from the old French name armoires for a cluster-headed dianthus, this is also the Latin name for the Dianthus
Species	maritima	Of the sea

About plant names...

Sea thrift has a fondness for sunny, salty environments, but it is also at home in mountain areas. It occurs in most of the northern hemisphere, in Europe and North and South America.

Identification: Sea thrift thrives in dry, infertile soils where few other plants can compete. It shows up along coastal beaches. Plants are 6-12" (15-30 cm) in size. The leaves are long, straight, stiff (and sharp), and dark green, looking like blades of grass. Blooms appear in April and May; they are pink, and sometimes white or red.

Sea thrift leaves resemble tufts of grass, but they are sharper. By Tomasz “Nemo5576” Górny

Edibility: Poisonous. Skull & Crossbones All parts of the plant are poisonous if eaten, and some people are allergic to the pollen.^[1]

Online References:

Armeria maritima ssp. sibirica from the USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region, Species Conservation Project

Armeria maritima on CalPhotos

Armeria maritima on Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

Armeria maritima at Chileflora

Armeria maritima at the Missouri Botanical Garden

¹See toxicity information

Armeria maritima description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 25 May 2020.

6/14/2008 · Stan and Connie’s, Falmouth, ME
≈ 7 × 4½" (17 × 11 cm)

Range: Zones 4-8:

About this map...