Cakile maritima | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Clade: | Rosids |
Order: | Brassicales |
Family: | Brassicaceae |
Genus: | Cakile |
Species: | C. maritima |
Binomial name | |
Cakile maritima | |
Occurrence data from GBIF [1] | |
Synonyms [2] | |
Synonyms
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Cakile maritima, sea rocket (Britain and Ireland) [3] or European searocket (North America), is a common plant in the mustard family Brassicaceae. It is widespread in Europe, North Africa and western Asia, especially on coastlines. It can now be found in many other areas of the world where it has been introduced. It is present on the west and east coasts of North America, where it has the potential to become an invasive species.[ citation needed ] This is an annual plant which grows in clumps or mounds in the sand on beaches and bluffs. The shiny leaves are fleshy, green and tinted with purple or magenta, and long-lobed. It has white to light purple flowers and sculpted, segmented, corky brown fruits one to three centimetres long. The fruits float and are water-dispersed.
It is a glabrous, succulent annual, with a slender or stout taproot. It has a branched stem which is prostrate or ascending, growing up to 15–45 cm (5.9–17.7 in) long. The lobed leaves, [4] are flesh-like and alternately spaced on the stem. They are different at the top and bottom of the stem; the lower leaves are obovate or oblanceolate, while the upper ones are oblong. [5] It blooms in the UK, between June and August. [4] The small flowers occur in shades of white, lilac-coloured or purple, [5] [4] with 4 petals measuring up to 25 mm (0.98 in) across. Later it produces green maturing to brown, with short, stubby seed capsules. They contain two yellow or brown, smooth seeds. [5] [4] The seed oil contains a high level of erucic acid. [6] [7]
Due to its highly efficient antioxidant system, [8] it can withstand even high doses of Cadmium pollution. [9]
It was published and described by Giovanni Antonio Scopoli in 'Fl. Carniol.' edition 2, Vol.2 on page 35, in 1772. [2] [10] [11]
The Latin specific epithet maritima means "of the sea". [12]
Cakile maritima is native to temperate areas of North Africa, western Asia and Europe. [14]
It is found in Africa within Algeria, the Canary Islands, Egypt, Libya, the Madeira Islands, Morocco and Tunisia. In Western Asia, it is found in the Caucasus, Georgia, Iran, Israel, Syria and Turkey. In Eastern Europe, it is found in Estonia and Ukraine. In middle Europe, it is found within Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. In Northern Europe, in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and the United Kingdom. In South-eastern Europe, within Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Italy, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia. In Southwestern Europe, within France, Portugal and Spain. [14] It is also widely naturalised outside of its native range, in North America. [14]
It grows on the foreshores near large dune systems, [5] and in shingle banks. [4] It is tolerant of salt spray and transient seawater inundation. It is pollinated by a wide range of insects, from Apis mellifera , Eristalis intricarius and Pieris rapae . [5]
As the seed oil contains a high level of erucic acid it can have pathological effects on the cardiac muscle of several animal species. However, orange-bellied parrots feed on its seed during their northward migrating journey from Tasmania and Australia. [5]
The leaves are edible, preferably cooked, and not eaten in great quantity. [15] The seed oil can be used for industrial applications. [7]
Spearmint, scientific name Mentha spicata, also known as garden mint, common mint, lamb mint and mackerel mint, is native to Europe and southern temperate Asia, extending from Ireland in the west to southern China in the east. It is naturalized in many other temperate parts of the world, including northern and southern Africa, North America, and South America. It is used as a flavouring in food and herbal teas. The aromatic oil, called oil of spearmint, is also used as a flavoring and sometimes as a scent.
Rapeseed, also known as rape and oilseed rape, is a bright-yellow flowering member of the family Brassicaceae, cultivated mainly for its oil-rich seed, which naturally contains appreciable amounts of erucic acid. The term "canola" denotes a group of rapeseed cultivars that were bred to have very low levels of erucic acid and which are especially prized for use as human and animal food. Rapeseed is the third-largest source of vegetable oil and the second-largest source of protein meal in the world.
Cirsium palustre, the marsh thistle or European swamp thistle, is a herbaceous biennial flowering plant in the family Asteraceae.
The golden samphire is a perennial coastal species, which may be found growing on salt marsh or sea cliffs across western and southern Europe and the Mediterranean.
Primula vulgaris, the common primrose, is a species of flowering plant in the family Primulaceae, native to Eurasia. The common name is primrose, or occasionally common primrose or English primrose to distinguish it from other Primula species referred to as primroses.
Brassica juncea, commonly brown mustard, Chinese mustard, Indian mustard, Korean green mustard, leaf mustard, Oriental mustard and vegetable mustard, is a species of mustard plant.
Raphanus raphanistrum, also known as wild radish, white charlock or jointed charlock, is a flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. The species is native to western Asia, Europe and parts of Northern Africa. It has been introduced into most parts of the world and is regarded as a habitat threatening invasive species in many areas, for example, Australia. It spreads rapidly and is often found growing on roadsides or in other places where the ground has been disturbed. The cultivated radish, widely used as a root vegetable, is sometimes considered to be one of its subspecies as Raphanus raphanistrum subsp. sativus.
Cakile is a genus within the flowering plant family Brassicaceae. Species in this genus are commonly known as searockets, though this name on its own is applied particularly to whatever member of the species is native or most common in the region concerned, the European searocket Cakile maritima in Europe, and the American searocket C. edentula in North America. The genus is native to Europe, Asia and North America, but the European searocket has been introduced into North America and has spread widely on both east and west coasts; in many places it is replacing the native C. edentula, and is regarded as an undesirable invasive species.
Coastal strand is a plant community of flowering plants that form along the shore in loose sand just above the high tide line.
Streptanthus glandulosus subsp. niger is an endangered subspecies of flowering plant within the family Brassicaceae. Like other genus members, this herb has wavy petal margins with perimeter calluses that discourage larval herbivory. This plant is endemic to the Tiburon Peninsula of Northern California, and occurs at elevations below 150 m on serpentine grasslands. The common name for this subspecies is Tiburon jewelflower or black jewelflower. This annual herb blooms in May and June and displays dark purple sepals. The etymology of this genus scientific name derives from the Greek word streptanthus, meaning twisted flower, with reference to the notable wavy margins of the petals. The subspecies name niger relates to the color of the seeds being black, although an alternate account cites the dark color of the petals as the source of the appellation.
Rocket, eruca, or arugula is an edible annual plant in the family Brassicaceae used as a leaf vegetable for its fresh, tart, bitter, and peppery flavor. Its other common names include garden rocket, as well as colewort, roquette, ruchetta, rucola, rucoli, and rugula.
Eruca is a genus of flowering plants in the family Brassicaceae, native to the Mediterranean region, which includes the leaf vegetable known as arugula or rocket.
Diplotaxis muralis, the annual wall-rocket, is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae. This plant is native to Europe, Asia, and Africa, but it is found throughout the temperate world, where it has naturalized. This is an erect mustard-like plant rarely reaching half a meter in height. It has lobed leaves and its stems are topped with dense inflorescences of yellow, or occasionally light purple, flowers with small oval petals and large anthers. The fruit is a podlike silique two to four centimeters long.
Salicornia europaea, known as marsh samphire, common glasswort or just glasswort, is a halophytic annual dicot flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae. Glasswort is a succulent herb also known as "pickle weed" or "marsh samphire". As a succulent, it has high water content, which accounts for its slightly translucent look and gives it the descriptive name "glasswort". To some people, it is known as "chicken toe" because of its shape. To others, it is called "saltwort". It grows in various zones of intertidal salt marshes, on beaches, and among mangroves.
Batis maritima, the saltwort or beachwort, is a halophyte. It is a C3-plant, long-lived perennial, dioecious, succulent shrub. The plant forms dense colonies in salt marshes, brackish marshes, and mangrove swamps and frequently is found on the margins of saltpans and wind-tidal flats. Batis maritima is a pioneer plant, covers quickly areas where hurricanes have destroyed the natural vegetation.
Limoniastrum monopetalum, is a species of flowering plant in the family Plumbaginaceae that is native to between Europe, Northern Africa and Western Asia. It has been found in salt marshes, dunes and other coastal areas with high salinity levels. It has silver-grey or light green leaves on multi branching stems. At the ends of the stems are the summer blooming flowers, in shades of pink, purple, lavender and violet. It is known to be salt and drought tolerant, as well as having the ability to withstand some forms of soil pollution.
Arthrocaulon macrostachyum, synonym Arthrocnemum macrostachyum, is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family. It is native to coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea and parts of the Middle East, where it grows in coastal and inland salt marshes, alkali flats, and other habitats with saline soils.
Microcnemum is a genus in the plant family Amaranthaceae, containing a single species, Microcnemum coralloides. It is a dwarf annual halophyte with fleshy, apparently jointed stems and reduced leaves and flowers. The two subspecies show a disjunct distribution in Spain and Western Asia.
Juncus inflexus, the hard rush, is a species of flowering plant in the family Juncaceae, native to Europe, Asia and Africa, and introduced in Sri Lanka, Java, Île Amsterdam and Île Saint-Paul, Victoria in Australia, New Zealand, Uruguay, and eastern North America. It is a glycophyte (non-halophyte).
Cakile arctica, commonly known as sea rocket and Fjörukál, is a species of flowering plant in the family Brassicaceae, native to the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway, and North European Russia. It is an annual species, i.e. it germinates, grows, flowers, produces seeds, and dies within one year. Cakile arctica is a pioneer species in primary succession: it was the first vascular plant to colonise Surtsey, a volcanic island 32 km (20 mi) south of Iceland that was formed by eruptions between 1963 and 1967, where it was first observed growing in 1965. Although it was the first vascular plant to grow on Surtsey, as of 1987 it had not established itself on the island.