Leaf
阿橋 HQ, Wikimedia · CC BY-SA 2.0
Aubrieta
Aubrieta deltoidea (L.) DC.
Also known as: Aubretia, Purple rock cress
Family: Brassicaceae
10 to 15 cm tall, in a spreading cushion
Rock gardens, low walls and sunny borders
Flowering: March – May
Full sun
Hardy to about -20°C
❓ How do you recognise this plant?
Aubretia forms a carpet of purple flowers so dense in spring that its foliage almost disappears beneath the blooms — a classic of old flowering walls and rock gardens.
🍃 Leaves
Small, ovate, slightly toothed, greyish, evergreen, in a cushion
🌸 Flowers
Violet to mauve, with 4 petals in a cross, very numerous and covering all the foliage
🍎 Fruits
Small flattened siliqua
🪵 Bark
Mat-forming perennial making dense cushions.
🗺️ Distribution
Native to the eastern Mediterranean basin; widely grown and sometimes naturalised on old walls in France
🐝 Value for pollinators
Early, abundant flowering, very nectar-rich, an important resource for the first bees of spring
✂️ Horticultural uses
Mat-forming perennial widely used in rock gardens, low walls and borders for its carpet of spring flowers
⚠️ Possible toxicity
No known toxicity
🌿 Other Brassicaceae to discover
ℹ️ Educational profile — do not use it to judge whether a plant is edible or safe.
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