Common sea lavender is the largest, most robust and most numerous sea lavender found in Norfolk. It is one of the dominant plants in the middle of a saltmarsh, above the area which is flooded by every tide, which is dominated by glassworts and sea aster, and below the area which is only exceptionally flooded, where shrubby seablite occurs. Within the middle marsh it is generally abundant and its mauve flowers, in July, can seem to carpet the marsh, between meandering silver lines of sea purslane along the raised banks of the creeks.