Limonium

Limonium 

(formerly Stance), a genus of plants of the family Plumbaginaceae. They are perennial herbs and, more rarely, subshrubs. The leaves are large and usually only radical. The small pink, purple, or yellow pentamerous flowers are in panicles. The stigmata are filiform. There are approximately 300 species, distributed throughout the world, primarily from the eastern Mediterranean Region and Central Asia. Approximately 35 species are found in the USSR. They usually grow in saline soils and on dry mountain slopes, predominantly in the Southeast European USSR, the Caucasus, and Middle Asia. The roots, which contain tannins, have been used for a long time to tan hide. Yellow, green, pink, and black pigments are also obtained from the plant for use by the leather and carpet industries. Several species, including Limonium latifolium and winged sea lavender (L. sinuatum), are grown as ornamentals.

Members of the genus Goniolimon, which have capitate stigmata, are often included in the genus Limonium. There are more than 20 species, distributed from Algeria to Central Asia. Approximately 15 species are found in the USSR, growing in the southern part of the European USSR, the Caucasus, Middle Asia, and Southern Siberia. One of the most common species is Goniolimon speciosum; it is cultivated, along with the species G. eximium and G. tataricum, as an ornamental.

REFERENCE

Flora SSSR, vol. 18. Moscow-Leningrad, 1952.

T. V. EGOROVA