Sesuvium

Sesuvium is a small genus of succulent, flowering plants in the family Aizoaceae, commonly known as sea purslanes. They are coastal halophytes native to warm regions of the world, thriving in saline sands, tidal flats, and brackish wetlands. The most widespread species is Sesuvium portulacastrum.

Plants in this genus are low-growing, prostrate or scrambling perennials with spreading stems. Leaves are succulent, opposite, oblanceolate to oblong, and often have a reddish tinge along the margins. Flowers are small, five-petaled, and produced in dense clusters in leaf axils or at the ends of short racemes; colors range from pink to pale purple. Fruits are capsules that release numerous tiny seeds.

Ecology and distribution: Sesuvium species tolerate high salinity and periodic inundation, and they can propagate by seeds or rooting of creeping stems at nodes. They occur in coastal dunes, salt marshes, mangrove margins, estuaries, and other saline soils across tropical and subtropical regions of Africa, Asia, the Americas, and Oceania. They are often used as pioneer plants in disturbed saline habitats and can contribute to coastal stabilization.

Taxonomy and species: The genus comprises several species, with Sesuvium portulacastrum being the most widely distributed. Other species are recognized in various regional treatments, though exact numbers vary by genus circumscription.

Uses and cultivation: Some Sesuvium species are cultivated as groundcover in saline gardens or used for stabilizing eroding shores. In certain cultures, leaves are consumed as edible greens, and the plants may serve as forage in coastal ecosystems where other crops struggle with salinity.