Sea holly

Sea holly (Eryngium bourgatii) is a perennial with stunning green, prickly foliage marbled with silver. The flowers, which appear in summer, are cobalt blue, and very attractive to bees. The plant is 30 to 60 cm in height.

The candied roots of the plant were eaten as a delicacy known as eringoes, and had a reputation as an aphrodisiac: the best known expression of this is in Shakespeare's The Merry Wives of Windsor, where Falstaff says:

My doe with the black scut! Let the sky rain potatoes; let it thunder to the tune of 'Green Sleeves', hail kissing-comfits and snow eringoes; let there come a tempest of provocation.