Sesuvium verrucosumWestern Sea Purslane

The Sesuvium verrucosum, commonly known as the Western Sea Purslane, is a prostrate succulent perennial of saline flats and playa margins across the Americas. It forms a low mat of fleshy, spoon-shaped green leaves on reddish trailing stems, studded with small pink to purple star-shaped flowers.

It roots as it runs and closes ground quickly on saline sand, which makes it useful as a living surface treatment on sabkha margins and salt-affected beds. It is used for saline ground cover, erosion control and low-maintenance edge planting.

Specifications

• Height0.1 to 0.2 metres
• Width0.6 to 1.2 metres, spreading by rooting stems
• Native toWestern and central North America, Central America and South America, on saline flats and playa margins
• FoliageFleshy, spoon-shaped green succulent leaves on reddish trailing stems; evergreen in warm climates
• Growth rateFast

Conditions

• SoilAccepts saline, alkaline and sandy soils; tolerates periodic inundation and salt crusting
• LightFull sun
• WaterLow; drought-tolerant once established and able to use saline groundwater
• ClimateThrives in hot arid, semi-arid and coastal regions with saline soils

Additional Features

• FlowersSmall pink to purple star-shaped flowers scattered across the mat through the warm months
• UsesSaline ground cover, sabkha and lagoon margin planting, salt-affected beds, low erosion control on flat ground
• SpacingPlant 0.5 to 0.8 metres apart for a closed mat within one season
• Low MaintenanceNo mowing or pruning required; trim only at hard edges
• Pest ResistanceFree of significant pest and disease problems
• Salt ToleranceHigh salt tolerance, growing directly on saline flats where turf and conventional ground cover fail
• Drought ToleranceGood once established, with the succulent foliage carrying it through dry spells
• Erosion ControlRooting stems bind loose saline sand and reduce surface movement

The Western Sea Purslane closes saline ground quickly and cheaply, in a position where most ground cover simply will not establish.