Flower
Sweet Alyssum
Lobularia maritimaAlso known as Sweet Alison, Carpet Flower, Snowcloth
Sweet alyssum forms dense carpets of fragrant, tiny four-petaled flowers that emit a pervasive honey-like aroma attractive to a wide variety of beneficial insects. Native to coastal Mediterranean regions, it thrives in sandy soils and rocky crags where salt spray often deters less hardy competitors. In cultivated landscapes, it acts as a reliable flowering groundcover that frequently reseeds itself year after year.
FloweringAromaticGroundcover
—observations
—countries
—peak records
Not EvaluatedConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXNot Evaluated — not placed on the risk ladderRed List categories, explained →
Diet & preySunlight, Water, Soil nutrients
Predators
- Cabbage White Caterpillar
- Flea Beetle
- Garden Slug
ThreatsSevere freezes, coastal development, and aggressive weed competition
HabitatsCoastal sands, rocky cliffs, gravelly slopes, roadsides, and garden borders
Life span1–3 years (annual to short-lived perennial)
Classification
- OrderBrassicales
- FamilyBrassicaceae
- GenusLobularia
- SpeciesLobularia maritima
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Safe to observe at a normal distance.
Responsible observation
- Garden Companion: Plant near vegetable patches to attract predatory hoverflies that control aphids.
- Fragrance Detection: Lean close on warm afternoons when the sun enhances the sweet honey scent.
- Pruning Care: Shear back spent flower stems by a third to stimulate a fresh flush of blooms.
Pollinator and Herbivore John Tann from Sydney, Australia / CC BY 2.0 · cc-by
Pollinator (c) Michael Knapp, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Michael Knapp · cc-by
Ecological Companion (c) Jürgen Howaldt, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · cc-by-sa
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