Perez's Sea Lavender (not native)
Limonium pereziiOverview

Description



Distribution

Classification
Classification
Sea lavenders are dicot angiosperms in the leadwort or plumbago family (Plumbaginaceae), which includes about 400 species of annuals or perennial subshrubs or vines, mostly associated with saline soils. However, only two species of this family are native to California, California sea lavender (Limonium californicum) and sea pink (Armeria maritima ssp. californica2).
Plants in the leadwort family are characterized by simple leaves that often bear glands on the surface, and by radially symmetric bisexual flowers, with five petals, five stamens, five styles,23 and five thin and membranous sepals, that may be more colorful and showy than the petals, and remain attached to the fruit until maturity.176
The leadwort family includes some plants of horticultural value, including sea pink, some varieties of Parez's sea lavender and the common ornamental, plumbago.
There are four other species of sea lavender at the San Elijo Lagoon Ecological Reserve, the native California sea lavender, and the non-native L. sinuatum, L. ramosissimum and L. duriusculum .48


Ecology
Ecology
Human Uses
Human Uses


Interesting Facts
Interesting Facts
Limonium perezii was originally named by the Austrian Botanist Otto Stapf, Statice perezii, in honor to Dr. George V. Perez, who contributed seed of different species of sea lavender to the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens.181 The genus Statice was moved to Limonium in 1916 by Frederic Hubbard.206
Some sea lavenders are among those species considered vulnerable in their native habitat, but when introduced and naturalized in a different area have become invasive and replaced native vegetation. Due to its low number and restricted distribution in the Canary Islands, L. perezii is classified as Vulnerable (VU) on the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) Red List.172 However, in California it is considered an ornamental landscape "escapee", and is now included in the “Watch List” of the California Invasive Plant Council because of its potential to spread in the California wildlands.183, 184

