Data provided by the participants of the Consortium of California Herbaria

View additional distribution information on the Jepson eflora

Limonium californicum is a species of sea lavender known by the common names western marsh rosemary and California sea lavender. It is native to western North America from Oregon to Baja California, with occasional sightings in Nevada and Arizona. It is a plant of coastal habitat such as beaches, salt marshes, and coastal prairie, and other sandy saline and alkaline habitat such as playas. This is a tough perennial herb growing from a woody rhizome. The thick, leathery leaves are oval in shape and up to about 30 centimeters long including the petioles, located in a basal rosette about the stem. The flower cluster is a stiff, branching panicle no more than about 35 centimeters tall bearing large clusters of flowers. The flowers have brownish white ribbed sepals and lavender to nearly white petals.

Plant type

Perennial herb

Size

1 - 2 ft Tall
1 - 2 ft Wide

Form

Mounding, Spreading

Growth rate

Fast

Dormancy

Evergreen

Calscape icon
Color

Blue, Lavender, White, Brown

Flowering season

Summer, Fall

Special uses

Containers, Water features or wet habitats

Sun

Full Sun

Water

Low, Moderate

Summer irrigation

Keep moist

Ease of care

Moderate

Cold tolerance

Tolerates cold to 25 - 30° F

Soil drainage

Fast, Medium, Slow, Standing

Soil description

Adaptable. Tolerates saline soil..

Sunset Zones

5, 15, 16, 17*, 21, 22*, 23*, 24*

Site type

Salt marshes, beaches and bays

Plant communities

Coastal Salt Marsh, Coastal Strand, Wetland-Riparian

Caterpillars
Butterflies

Butterflies and moths supported

0 confirmed and 2 likely

Confirmed Likely

Sunflower Moth

Homoeosoma electella

Celery Leaftier

Udea rubigalis