Sea pineapple (Attraylis preauxiana)
The Attraylis preauxiana is a very small shrub-like plant whose appearance is quite peculiar. It is known by various names and the best known of them is the pineapple of the sea. But it is also attributed names such as sea thistle or coast thistle.
Sadly, it is a plant that is currently in danger of extinction. So today we will let you know how wonderful this species is and so it can give it a space in your home if possible.
Habitat of the sea pineapple
In principle, the Attraylis preauxiana is a class of endemism that is distributed in a large part of the Tenerife Islands, as well as in Gran Canaria. And although this is its place of origin, it is distributed in multiple countries, despite the fact that its volume or quantity is not what is expected or wanted.
In the same way , the habitat in which this plant lives and establishes itself are the cliffs and those lands that tend to be rocky that are not so altered. It is curious how the sea pineapple can only live between 25 or 30 meters above sea level, being very rare to see this plant at higher altitudes above sea level.
To be more specific as to where it is usually seen, the eastern coasts of the islands already mentioned are the most common places to witness the beauty and delicacy of the plant. Curiously, the plant is attracted to the idea of being oriented to the northeast of where it is.
characteristics
You have to have a good eye to be able to identify this plant, not because it is a difficult plant to identify, but because of the size of the sea pineapple. Know that the maximum size that this species can acquire does not exceed 10 cm in height.
Of course, it usually grows a bit thick and can easily cover the ground reaching a diameter of up to 25 cm. As for its leaves, they are elongated and full-edged. They have a very beautiful grayish-green color that stands out a lot when the sun’s rays fall on the plant.
The length of each leaf can be between 1 and 2 cm long. Knowing the height and length of the Attraylis preauxiana leaves, it is obvious to determine that the width of its leaves is not very pronounced. To be specific, they are 5mm wide at most.
Now, moving on to its flowers, these usually grow in the shape of a cocoon and once they manage to bloom, they acquire various colors depending on the type of subspecies of this plant. Some flowers can be light fuchsia, others white, and even create light red flowers.
Culture
Thanks to urban planning and its expansion, it seems that it is inevitable that this plant will disappear, however, there are protection plans for this and many other plants in danger of extinction. What’s great about this particular plant is that you can recreate the conditions where it was originally found and grow them in your home.
But the ideal would be to have them in their natural habitat instead of gardens and/ or pots. For now, you can buy some seeds to start your cultivation of Attraylis preauxiana, but it will not be so easy, since most of these seeds are going to the Germplasm Bank of the Canarian Botanical Garden Viera.
Uses of the Attraylis preauxiana
To date it is unknown if the plant has any medicinal, traditional or any other use. The only possible use is to give a more natural touch to the gardens but it is not so easy to have this plant in the home, since it is tried to prolong its life.
This is basically what can be known at the moment about this species. Many organizations do not give too many details since making them known would imply that people tend to look for this plant and start its cultivation. And what is being tried is to avoid its total disappearance due to human activity.
