''Armeria pungens'', common name spiny thrift, is a rare plant of the genus ''

Armeria ''Armeria'' is a genus of flowering plants. These plants are sometimes known as "lady's cushion", "thrift", or "sea pink" (the latter because as they are often found on coastlines). The genus counts over a hundred species, mostly native to the ...

'' of the family

Plumbaginaceae Plumbaginaceae is a family (biology), family of flowering plants, with a cosmopolitan distribution. The family is sometimes referred to as the leadwort family or the plumbago family. Most species in this family are perennial plant, perennial h ...

Description

''Armeria pungens'' grows in small shrubs, reaching heights of about . The stems are lignified at the base, robust, highly branched. Leaves are glabrous, linear to lanceolate, pointed, about long and about wide. Flower heads are pale pink, gathered in globose inflorescences at the top of long

pedicels In botany, a pedicel is a stem that attaches a single flower to the inflorescence In botany, an inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a plant's Plant stem, stem that is composed of a main branch or a system of branch ...

. Flowering period extends from May through July.

Distribution

This plant is endemic to

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

(

Sardinia Sardinia ( ; ; ) is the Mediterranean islands#By area, second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, and one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. It is located west of the Italian Peninsula, north of Tunisia an ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

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Corsica Corsica ( , , ; ; ) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of the Metro ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Habitat

This small shrub grows in coastal sand-dunes and beaches, at an elevation of about above sea level.

Synonyms

* ''Armeria fasciculata'' var. ''intermedia'' Daveau * ''Armeria fasciculata'' var. ''pungens'' ( Link) Arcang. * ''Armeria fasciculata'' ( Vent.)

Willd. Carl Ludwig Willdenow (22 August 1765 – 10 July 1812) was a German botanist, pharmacist, and plant taxonomist. He is considered one of the founders of phytogeography, the study of the geographic distribution of plants. Willdenow was also ...

* ''Armeria maritima'' subsp. ''pungens'' (Link) Bernis * ''Reverchonia fasciculata'' (Vent.) Gand. * ''Reverchonia pungens'' (Link) Gand. * ''Statice fasciculata'' var. ''pungens'' (Link) Samp. * ''Statice fasciculata'' Vent. * ''Statice pungens'' Brot.

Gallery

File:Flowers at Vignola Mare, Sardinia, Italy.jpg, ''Armeria pungens'' in

References

* Pignatti S. 1982 - Flora d'Italia. Bologna – Vol. II, pag, 301 * Piñeiro R, Fuertes Aguilar J, Munt DD, Nieto Feliner G. -
Atlantic-Mediterranean disjunction in the sand-dune shrub Armeria pungens (Plumbaginaceae) - Real Jardín Botánico de Madrid, CSIC

Anthos

External links

*

pungens Flora of Portugal Plants described in 1804 {{Caryophyllales-stub