Baldwin’s Eryngo

Baldwin’s Eryngo (Eryngium baldwinii) is a diminutive and easy to overlook flower. Found along the edges of marshes, in swamps and wet pine flatwoods, this groundcover grows in long runners and stays within just a few inches of the ground. The tiny individual flowers of this plant can be attractive to small butterflies and pollinators. This species is also listed as a possible larval host for the Eastern Black Swallowtail butterfly.

Baldwin’s Eryngo is native to Florida and Georgia. There are several other species of Eryngo found native to the state of Florida. The genus Eryngium is a member of the Umbelliferae (carrot) family and contains some 230 species worldwide.

A large mat of this flower can be found blooming at the wetland entrance to the Backwoods Forest Preserve at MOSI. This species and several other groundcovers have woven themselves into a blooming carpet near the boardwalk over the wetlands. Small patches of fleabane can also be found blooming in this area.

The name for the genus Eryngium derives from the Greek for "prickly plant" referring to the thistle-like leaves near the blooms of this genus. This species in particular is named for American physician and botanist William Baldwin (1779 – 1819) who collected thousands of botanical specimens in his travels. Although he only published two papers, his herbarium specimens were of great importance to botanists Asa Gray and John Torrey. His collection eventually passed to the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Science.