A fine genus of plants, grown for their spiky foliage and bracts, silvery blue, silvery green or just plain silver, with teasel-like heads of flowers, the shape and size of an egg, although in the same is a quail?s egg, and in other a duck?s. The plants include the sea hollies, and some spectacular ones with vicious spines. Many are monocarpic, but are easily propagated from seeds, and may seed themselves gently in the garden.

Eryngium giganteum is what is also known as 'Miss Willmott's Ghost', as apparently she was in the habit of dropping some of its seeds in friends' gardens, so that the plants would appear mysteriously. This was a generous act, as the silver, spiky leaves look good all the time, only to enhanced by the silvery blue flowers.