''Eryngium castrense'' is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae known by the common name Great Valley eryngo, or Great Valley button celery. This plant is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, where it grows in wet areas such as vernal pools and ponds in the central part of the state. This is a heavily branched, spiny

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

reaching maximum heights of around half a meter. It produces light green to grayish green hairless stems with occasional lobed, oval-shaped leaves. At the tops of the stems are

flower heads A pseudanthium (Greek for "false flower"; ) is an inflorescence that resembles a flower. The word is sometimes used for other structures that are neither a true flower nor a true inflorescence. Examples of pseudanthia include flower heads, compos ...

one to one and a half centimeters wide and rounded or egg-shaped. At the base of each head is an array of 7 to 9 spiny, pointed

bract In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, especially one associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves. They may be smaller, larger, or of ...

s up to three centimeters long, and sometimes a few smaller bractlets above. The rounded flower head contains many small white to light purple flowers.

External links

Jepson Manual TreatmentUSDA Plants ProfilePhoto gallery
castrense Endemic flora of California Natural history of the Central Valley (California) Flora without expected TNC conservation status {{Apiaceae-stub