''Sesuvium edmonstonei'', commonly known as Galapagos carpet weed,''Sesuvium edmonstonei''ZipCodeZoo.com
Downloaded on 9 August 2009 is a species of

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...

in the family

Aizoaceae The Aizoaceae, or fig-marigold family, is a large family of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing 135 genera and about 1800 species. They are commonly known as ice plants or carpet weeds. They are often called vygies in South Africa and Ne ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

to the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands (Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuador ...

(

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

Description

''Sesuvium edmonstonei'' is a low-growing perennial plant. The stems, which are fleshy and covered with scales, are sometimes woody at the base. The succulent leaves are oblanceolate and grow in opposite pairs; they are simple, entire and up to long. The flowers grow in the leaf axils, each having a five-lobed white calyx, no petals, and many stamens. The fruits that follow are ovoid capsules, with lids, containing black seeds with wrinkled cuticles. The plants develop orange and red hues in the cool season.

Distribution and habitat

This succulent plant is

to the Galapagos Islands. It is found on

Darwin Island Darwin Island (Spanish: ''Isla Darwin'') is among the smallest in the Galápagos Archipelago with an area of just . It is named in honour of English scientist Charles Darwin. With no dry landing sites, Darwin Island's main attractions are fo ...

Española Island Española Island (Spanish: ''Isla Española'') is part of the Galápagos Islands. The English named it ''Hood Island'' after Viscount Samuel Hood. It is located in the extreme southeast of the archipelago and is considered, along with Sant ...

Fernandina Island Fernandina Island (Spanish: ''Isla Fernandina'', named after King Ferdinand of Spain, the sponsor of Christopher Columbus) (formerly known in English as Narborough Island, after John Narborough) is the third largest, and youngest, island of the ...

, Floreana Island, Genovesa Island, Isabela Island, Rábida Island,

San Cristóbal Island San Cristóbal Island ( es, Isla San Cristóbal) and named previously by the English as ''Chatham Island'', is the easternmost island in the Galápagos archipelago, as well as one of the oldest geologically. It is administratively part ...

Santa Cruz Island Santa Cruz Island ( Spanish: ''Isla Santa Cruz'', Chumash: ''Limuw'') is located off the southwestern coast of Ventura, California, United States. It is the largest island in California and largest of the eight islands in the Channel Islands ...

, Santiago Island and

Wolf Island Wolf Island (Spanish: ''Isla Wolf'') or Wenman Island is a small island in the Galápagos Islands and was named after the German geologist Theodor Wolf, who also has the volcano Wolf on Isabela Island named after him. It has an area of and a m ...

. It spreads in sheets across both rocky and sandy ground.

References

External links

Endemic flora of Galápagos edmonstonei Least concern plants Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxobox binomials not recognized by IUCN {{Aizoaceae-stub