Family

Lead-wort.

Colour

Lavender.

Odour

Fragrant.

Range

Along the coast.

Time of Bloom

August, September.

Flowers: tiny; growing in panicles along one side of the branches. Calyx: funnel-form: five-cleft. Corolla: of five petals. Stamens: five. Pistil: one, with three, or five styles. Root-leaves: lanceolate, tapering into a petiole; thick. Stem: naked; much branched at the summit.

Where winds off the sea blow gaily

And playfully kiss the land, Marsh rosemary sways and trembles

And nods to the pallid sand.

The corolla of this little flower, which en masse suggests the filmy sea-spray, dries and remains bright throughout the winter. It is highly prized for bouquets and used by thrifty housewives to frighten away moths. About Shelter Island and Sag Harbor it tints the coast with its delicate bloom.