Nick Upton / European dwarf mantis (Ameles spallanzania / Ameles africana) male hunting on Sea holly flowers (Eryngium maritimum) on a beach, Sardinia, Italy, June.

Nick Upton / Small heath butterfly, southern form (Coenonympha pamphilus lyllus) feeding on Sea holly flowers (Eryngium maritimum) on a beach, Sardinia, Italy, June.

Nick Upton / Parasitoid wasp (Leucospis gigas) feeding on Sea holly flowers (Eryngium maritimum) on a beach, Sardinia, Italy, June.

Nick Upton / Mediterranean sea holly / Pyrenean eryngo (Eryngium bourgatii) flowering on montane pastureland, Covadonga, Picos de Europa, Asturias, Spain, August.

Juan Carlos Munoz / Holm oak (Quercus ilex) forest and mountain landscape, Liendo Valley, Cantabrian Sea, Cantabria, Spain. November 2018.

Nick Upton / Amethyst eryngo / Blue eryngo (Eryngium amethystinum) flowering in limestone mountains, near Kosmas, Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece, August.

Nick Upton / Amethyst eryngo / Blue eryngo (Eryngium amethystinum) flowering in limestone mountains, near Kosmas, Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece, August.

Alan Williams / Sea Holly (Eryngium maritimum) growing on sand dunes by shore of Dee Estuary near Hoylake, Wirral, UK, July.

Ernie Janes / Mediterranean sea holly (Eryngium bourgatia) 'Picco blue' flowers in garden border. England, UK.

Ernie Janes / Mediterranean sea holly (Eryngium bourgatia) 'Picco blue' flowers in garden border. England, UK.

Ernie Janes / Sea holly (Eryngium maritimum) growing in coastal dunes England, UK. August.

Ernie Janes / Sea Holly (Eryngium maritimum) growing in coastal dunes England, UK. August.