This striking perennial is providing interest in the Glasshouse Bays.
Belonging to the carrot family Apiaceae the genus Eryngium contains over 250 species of annuals, biennials and perennials from southern North America, South America, Europe, western and central Asia and Australasia. Species usually have a basal rosette of often spiny leaves and thistle-like umbels of flowers. Many species thrive in dry, rocky and coastal areas and have tap roots, while those from the Americas tend to occur in wetter conditions and have fibrous roots and sword-shaped leaves. E. pandanifolium is an evergreen, clump-forming perennial originating from Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. It has slender leaves with marginal spines, and the slender stems produce many axillary branches bearing umbels of many tiny purple-brown flowers. This is an architectural species requiring moist conditions in full sun.