Montpellier coris
Coris monspeliensis
Family · Primulaceae · Harmless
The low plant with needle leaves and unequal lilac flowers, looking like a small pine covered in bloom. It is a primrose relative, not a mint, despite appearances: a primula in scrub disguise.
Scrubland · Walls and rocks · Dunes and sand · Uplands
Also known asblue coris
How to tell it
Very narrow fleshy leaves packed in a spiral along the stem, like a little pine. Lilac or pink flowers in a dense terminal spike, with petals of different sizes and a spiny calyx. Range: mainly a Spanish plant, practically absent from Portugal.
What it is confused with
No dangerous lookalikes known in the Iberian Peninsula.
What it is for
No relevant use
It counts as a botanical surprise: almost everyone misplaces it at first sight.
Where it occurs
Each square is an area with recorded observations of this plant. The lighter background is the set of areas where any of the entries has been observed, and serves as a reference. Note what this is not: it is not where the plant lives, it is where people record it, so trails and towns always look fuller than the mountains. Data from GBIF.
Sources
Community
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