The Purple Pineapple has started to bloom! I have described this wonderful plant the purple pineapple before I even knew that others had called it that before me. And what an apt description of the Leavenworth’s Eryngo (Eryngium leavenworthii)!
In our field, it has just started to turn its signature color!
Leavenworth’s Eryngo (Eryngium leavenworthii) does not have data for Texas, but you can see from NatureServe that it is critically imperiled in Arkansas. So you may want to consider adding it to your wildflower garden to help it status in your area just in case.
On the shady side, I spotted an Eastern Carpenter Bee (Xylocopa virginica).
The carpenter bee went around and around the flowers multiple times as I watched.
Do you see the blue anthers? This plant is just so full of wonderful colors. It provides for the insects this time of year when there are not many sources left in the fields. From bees, caterpillars, stink bugs and others will be clamoring to seek out this wonderful wildflower of late summer/fall!
Keep looking!
The more you know, the more you see and the more you see, the more you know.
10 Comments
It is a beautiful plant but just too prickly for me to want to work around.😄
I see from the Atlas maps that three other species of Eryngium are also found in AR, including two found in nearly every county. Maybe E. leavenworthii was never very common in the state. Maybe that one county has a specific transitional soil type not found in the rest of the state.
It is a beautiful plant but just too prickly for me to want to work around.😄
Are you a wimp? 😉
Maybe you can try saving me some seeds again.? Pretty please
I bet we could arrange something. 🙂
Wow, amazing that it’s critically imperiled in Arkansas. It seems so common around here.
It is frightening to think, it could happen here too as we lose habitat? Apparently it is only in one county at the very bottom western county. https://www.arkansasheritage.com/docs/default-source/anhc-staff-publications/atlasvascularplantsarkansas2013_lowerres.pdf?sfvrsn=672c40f3_12
I see from the Atlas maps that three other species of Eryngium are also found in AR, including two found in nearly every county. Maybe E. leavenworthii was never very common in the state. Maybe that one county has a specific transitional soil type not found in the rest of the state.
Could be on the soil type. Also maybe that the woody stuff is taking over and leaving less open ground?
Yes, that’s another possibility too. We are only looking at one point in time. Seeing an original range map if one exists would be helpful.
I am definitely a wimp😆