Aizoaceae FAMILY

Sesuvium portulacastrum

Edibility

3/5

Medicinal

3/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitPerennial

Growth—

Prefers a sunny position in a well-drained sandy soil^[1]. The plant tolerates acidic and alkaline soils^[1]. Very tolerant of salty conditions^[1]. Established plants are very drought tolerant^[1]. A low-maintenance plant, it needs no irrigation or fertilizer and serious diseases or pests are not known^[1]. Plants flower and fruit all year round^[1]. Each flower opens for only a few hours per day^[1].

Propagation

Seed. Rooted stem cuttings. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-21. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Sesuvium+portulacastrum>

Pollinators

Data unavailable

References

[1]Protabase - Plant Resources of Tropical Africa. — http://www.prota.org ↩︎An excellent on-line database with detailed information on over 3,200 species of useful plants of Africa.
[2]Edible Wild Plants of Tanzania — Ruffo, C.K.: Birnie, A. & Tengnas, B. · Regional Land Management Unit; Nairobi. · 2002 · ISBN 9966-896-60-0 ↩︎A very well presented, simple guide to growing and utilizing wild food plants in Tanzania, with line drawings of each plant, a description, habitat and range, non-food as well as food uses, plus basic information on growing the plants.
[3]Flora of the Sydney Region — Carolin. R. & Tindale. M. · Reed. Australia. · 1993 · ISBN 0730104001 ↩︎Concise flora with little beyond an extensive key, species descriptions, very brief habitat description.
[4]Cornucopia II — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications, California. · 1998 · ISBN 0-9628087-2-5 ↩︎The second edition of an excellent guide to the edible uses of plants, though it does not give any details of cultivation etc.
[5]Wild Food Plants of Australia. — Low. T. · Angus and Robertson. · 1989 · ISBN 0-207-14383-8 ↩︎Well presented, clear information and good photographs. An interesting read for the casual reader as well as the enthusiast