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Halimione portulacoides - (L.)Aellen.

Sea Purslane

Author	(L.)Aellen.	Botanical references	17
Family	Chenopodiaceae	Genus	Halimione
Synonyms	Atriplex portulacoides - L. Obione portulacoides - (L.)Moq.
Known Hazards	None known
Range	Europe, including Britain, south and east to N. Africa and W. Asia. Also in S. Africa.
Habitat	Salt marshes, especially fringing channels and pools, usually flooded at full tide[5, 17].
Edibility Rating	3 (1-5)	Medicinal Rating	0 (1-5)

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen Shrub growing to 0.75m.

The plant prefers light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline and saline soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires moist or wet soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats

Bog Garden; Cultivated Beds;

Edible Uses

Edible Parts: Leaves.

Leaves - raw in salads or cooked as a potherb[5, 8, 12, 183]. Thick and succulent with a good crunchy texture and a natural saltiness[183, K]. They need careful washing when collected from the wild[52].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Succeeds in poor soils, saline soils and a sunny position. Tolerates light shade and maritime exposure.

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in the autumn in a cold frame. The seed germinates from winter onwards. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, July/August in a frame. Very easy[K]. Division in spring.

Links

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[5] Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins 1974 ISBN 0-00-219060-5
Edible wild plants found in Britain. Fairly comprehensive, very few pictures and rather optimistic on the desirability of some of the plants.

[8] Ceres. Free for All. Thorsons Publishers 1977 ISBN 0-7225-0445-4
Edible wild plants in Britain. Small booklet, nothing special.

[12] Loewenfeld. C. and Back. P. Britain's Wild Larder. David and Charles 0 ISBN 0-7153-7971-2
A handy pocket guide.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[52] Larkcom. J. Salads all the Year Round. Hamlyn 1980
A good and comprehensive guide to temperate salad plants, with full organic details of cultivation.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

Readers Comments

Plants for a Future does not verify the accuracy of reader comments, use at your own risk. In particular Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. You should always consult a professional before using plants medicinally.

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