Erinus is a small genus of flowering plants in the family Plantaginaceae (previously placed in Scrophulariaceae), within the order Lamiales. The genus was described by Linnaeus in 1753 (Species Plantarum 2: 630), and the GBIF backbone currently recognizes about nine species in it. Members are native to stony, mountainous habitats of North Africa (Morocco, Algeria) and central-to-southern Europe.
Plants in this genus are chasmophytes — low, cushion- or mat-forming perennials adapted to rooting in rock crevices — favoring rocky slopes and lime-rich substrates. The best-known and most widely grown species is Erinus alpinus (fairy foxglove, alpine balsam, starflower, or liver balsam), a semi-evergreen perennial with short (around 10 cm) stems, narrow blue-green leaves, and clusters of rose-pink flowers produced in spring and summer. It is popular in rockeries and alpine gardens, has received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit, and a number of cultivars have been raised from it. Outside its native range it occasionally naturalizes on old stone walls and similar rocky masonry, as seen in parts of Britain.
Some members of the genus are cultivated as ornamentals more broadly, though E. alpinus remains the genus's principal garden plant.
Distribution
Erinus is native to stony, mountainous sites of North Africa (Morocco, Algeria) and central-to-southern Europe. Its principal species, E. alpinus, also naturalizes outside its native range on old stone walls, such as in the Scottish Highlands.
Ecology
Species in the genus are chasmophytes — plants adapted to rooting in rock crevices — favoring rocky slopes and lime-rich substrates.
Cultivation
Several Erinus species are grown as ornamentals, most notably E. alpinus ("fairy foxglove"), a popular rockery and alpine-garden plant available in a number of cultivars and holder of the RHS Award of Garden Merit.
Taxonomy Notes
Erinus was described by Linnaeus in 1753 (Species Plantarum 2: 630) and is placed in family Plantaginaceae, order Lamiales; it was previously classified in family Scrophulariaceae. The GBIF backbone lists 9 species under the genus.
