Sea Purslane

Organisms / Plants / Herbaceous Flowers

Sesuvium portulacastrum

Camp Lulu Key (Rookery Bay Wildlife Refuge; 25.834N, 81.509W)

March 19, 2006

Photograph by Deborah Roquiz

 

Descriptive Information

    Field Marks: Small succulent leaves connected to runner-like stems that extend from an initial root.  Has a small purple flower.
    Size: 2-2.5 inches, Width: Approximately 0.25 inches, Thickness: 1/8 inches.
    General Habitat: Calm waters, light shade, and in the intertidal zone.
    Range: Coastal Florida.

Field Observations
This spreading ground foliage is found in lightly shaded areas with few mangrove trees. It extends runners from a central root, which is rather difficult to find to the massive interweaving of stems. This conglomerate of leaves and stems provides dense ground cover in the areas it occupies. A portion of the population also extends below the water line at high tide. There seems to be no detrement to the plants subjected to the saline water. The species as a whole is found along calm inlet waters in the intertidal zone. This plant’s succulent leaves have no apparent venation but have a faintly visible central vein. These leaves grow to between 2 inches and 2.5 inches long and have an average width of 0.25 inches. These leaves are edible but the taste bears evidence of the extreme salinity of the environment in which Sea Purslane lives. We observed several insects landing on and apparently feeding on the leaves of this plant (some leaves bore numerous bite marks and discoloration). This plant possesses small purple flowers, which attract a variety of insects. These flowers have five purple sepals that look like petals. The flowers are sparsely interspersed with only one or two flowers per square meter. The insects observed visiting this plants leaves and its flowers included the Halloween Pennant (insert Halloween Pennant image link), the Eastern Pygmy-Blue, the Rambur’s Forktail (insert Rambur’s Forktail link), the Common Buckeye (insert Common Buckeye link), and a variety of ants. The location we observed the plant at has the GPS coordinates of 25°50.219 N, 81°30.360 W.

Further Observations

References
Alden, Peter, Richard B. Cech, Amy Leventer, Gil Nelson, and Wendy B. Zomlefer. National Audubon Society Field Guide to Florida. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1998.

Additional Photographs
Flower
Leaf Damage
Mass of Sea Purslane

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