An open-pollinated seedling of H. nakaiana, this cultivar was registered by Anne Arett in 1980 as 'Sea Shells' but the name was later changed. The plant grows to about 11 inches in height with a spread of 3 feet.

According to The Hostapedia by Mark Zilis (2009), "Anne Arett changed the name of her plant to reserve cultivars starting with "Sea" for Mildred Seaver of Massachusetts."

An article by Warren I. Pollock in The Hosta Journal (1991 Vol. 22 No. 2) states that, "I am in favor of hosta cultivars having some identification in their names as to who hybridized or introduced the plants...The hosta introductions of Mildred (Mrs Charles W.) Seaver...are the classic example of this. I believe she was the first to do it with hostas. Many, but not all, of her introductions have "Sea" as the first word in their names...In 1980, Mrs. Ann Arett...registered an all-green hosta under the name 'Sea Shells'. As a courtesy to Mildred Seaver, and with Ann Arrett's permission, the name was changed to 'Shells at Sea' in 1983."

Since the time this article appeared in 1991 many more hosta name series have come into use. We have cultivar lists from our database for many of them.