''Sesuvium portulacastrum'' is a sprawling

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wide ...

herb In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

that grows in coastal areas throughout much of the world. It is commonly known as shoreline purslane or (ambiguously) " sea purslane," in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

, ''dampalit'' in Tagalog and 海马齿sl in chinese.

Description

''Sesuvium portulacastrum'' is a sprawling perennial herb up to high, with thick, smooth stems up to long. It has smooth, fleshy, glossy green

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

that are linear or lanceolate, from long and wide. Flowers are pink or purple.

Taxonomy

It was first published as ''Portulaca portulacastrum'' by

Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...

in 1753. Six years later Linnaeus transferred it into ''

Sesuvium ''Sesuvium'' is a genus of flowering plants in the ice plant family, Aizoaceae. The roughly eight species it contains are commonly known as sea-purslanes. Selected species * '' Sesuvium crithmoides'' Welw. – Tropical sea-purslane * '' Ses ...

'', and it has remained at that name ever since, with the exception of an unsuccessful 1891 attempt by

Otto Kuntze Carl Ernst Otto Kuntze (23 June 1843 – 27 January 1907) was a German botanist. Biography Otto Kuntze was born in Leipzig. An apothecary in his early career, he published an essay entitled ''Pocket Fauna of Leipzig''. Between 1863 and 1866 he ...

to transfer the species into a new genus as ''Halimus portulacastrum''.

Distribution and habitat

''Sesuvium portulacastrum'' grows in

sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

, coastal

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

and

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

, tidal flats and

salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominated ...

es, throughout much of the world. It is native to

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

Hawai`i Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, and has naturalised in many places where it is not indigenous.''Sesuvium portulacastrum''
at the

Germplasm Resources Information Network Germplasm Resources Information Network or GRIN is an online USDA National Genetic Resources Program software project to comprehensively manage the computer database for the holdings of all plant germplasm collected by the National Plant Germplasm ...

(GRIN)

Chemistry and medicine

Fatty acid composition:-

palmitic acid Palmitic acid (hexadecanoic acid in IUPAC nomenclature) is a fatty acid with a 16-carbon chain. It is the most common saturated fatty acid found in animals, plants and microorganisms.Gunstone, F. D., John L. Harwood, and Albert J. Dijkstra. The Li ...

(31.18%),

oleic acid Oleic acid is a fatty acid that occurs naturally in various animal and vegetable fats and oils. It is an odorless, colorless oil, although commercial samples may be yellowish. In chemical terms, oleic acid is classified as a monounsaturated omega ...

(21.15%),

linolenic acid Linolenic acid is a type of naturally-occurring fatty acid. It can refer to either of two octadecatrienoic acids (i.e. with an 18-carbon chain and three double bonds, which are found in the '' cis'' configuration), or a mixture of the two. Lino ...

(14.18%)

linoleic acid Linoleic acid (LA) is an organic compound with the formula COOH(CH2)7CH=CHCH2CH=CH(CH2)4CH3. Both alkene groups are cis-trans isomerism, ''cis''. It is a fatty acid sometimes denoted 18:2 (n-6) or 18:2 ''cis''-9,12. A linoleate is a salt (chem ...

(10.63%),

myristic acid Myristic acid (IUPAC name: tetradecanoic acid) is a common saturated fatty acid with the molecular formula CH3(CH2)12COOH. Its salts and esters are commonly referred to as myristates or tetradecanoates. It is named after the binomial name for nutm ...

(6.91%) and

behenic acid Behenic acid (also docosanoic acid) is a carboxylic acid, the saturated fatty acid with formula C21H43COOH. In appearance, it consists of white solid although impure samples appear yellowish. Sources At 9%, it is a major component of ben oil (or ...

(2.42%) The plant extract showed

antibacterial An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the treatment and prevention of ...

and anticandidal activities and moderate antifungal activity.

Human consumption

''Sesuvium portulacastrum'' is eaten in the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, where it is called ''dampalit'' in Tagalog and "bilang" or "bilangbilang" in the

Visayan language The Bisayan languages or Visayan languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages spoken in the Philippines. They are most closely related to Tagalog and the Bikol languages, all of which are part of the Central Philippine languages. Mo ...

.Jes B. Tirol's Kapulongnan Binisaya-Ininglis/Dictionary Bisaya-English, p. 71, 2010 The plant is primarily pickled and eaten as ''

atchara ''Atchara'' (also spelled ''achara'' or ''atsara'') is a pickle made from grated unripe papaya originating from the Philippines. This dish is often served as a side dish for fried or grilled foods such as pork barbecue. History The nam ...

'' (sweet traditional pickles).

References

External links

Online Field guide to Common Saltmarsh Plants of Queensland
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2472430 portulacastrum Caryophyllales of Australia Flora of Europe Flora of Asia Flora of Africa Flora of South America Flora of North America Medicinal plants Plants described in 1759 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus