Erysimum cheiri

English: Wallflower - Aegean Wallflower
Nederlands: Muurbloem
Español: Alhelí
Français: Giroflée - Violier jaune - Ravenelle
Deutsch: Goldlack

Family: Brassicaceae - Cabbage family
Flowering time: April-June
Height: 20-70cm
Altitude: to 1200m
Colour: yellow
Flower: 20-25mm
Leaves: narrow and pointed, up to 20cm
Habitat: rocky places, moraines, screes, cliffs, walls
Distribution: native to south-eastern Europe, widely naturalized in other parts of Europe
Synonym: Cheiranthus cheiri





Notes: Wallflower is a threatened species in the Netherlands and on the Dutch Red List of vascular plants. On the walls of Fort Rammekens, a sea fortress in Ritthem (province of Zeeland) that dates from 1547, more than three thousand Wallflower plants have been counted. This is about three-quarters of the entire population of Erysimum cheiri in this country.
It is said that in Great Britain the Normans introduced Erysimum cheiri by importing stones to build their castles. Nowadays Wallflower is widely cultivated in gardens in Great Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, France and Germany. Many cultivars have been developed and these are available in shades of yellow, orange, red, maroon, purple, brown, white and cream.

Related key words: Fort Rammekens Ritthem, Rotterdam Botanische tuin Kralingen, Tuinmuurbloem, Vélar de Marshall, Siberian Wallflower, insect, Nederlandse Rode Lijst