Suaeda australisAustral Seablite

Suaeda australis, the Austral Seablite, is a low sprawling succulent subshrub of saltmarsh and estuary, with small fleshy cylindrical leaves in blue-green that redden under stress. It is a true halophyte: it grows in soils that would kill almost any other plant in the catalogue, including ground that is regularly reached by the tide.

Its role in a project is functional first and ornamental second, in foreshore rehabilitation, sabkha and saline site revegetation and the salt-affected margins of coastal developments.

Specifications

• Height0.3 to 1 metre
• Width0.5 to 1.5 metres, sprawling
• Native toCoastal Australia and New Zealand
• FoliageSmall, fleshy, cylindrical blue-green leaves that redden under salt or drought stress, on sprawling woody stems; evergreen
• Growth rateModerate

Conditions

• SoilGrows in saline, sandy and periodically waterlogged coastal soils that defeat conventional planting
• LightFull sun
• WaterLow to moderate; tolerates both saline waterlogging and extended dry periods
• ClimateThrives in temperate to subtropical coastal regions, including saltmarsh and estuarine sites

Additional Features

• FormLow spreading mound of fleshy stems that colours red under stress
• UsesIdeal for saltmarsh and estuarine rehabilitation, foreshore and dune planting, saline site revegetation and salt-tolerant ground cover
• SpacingPlant 0.5 to 0.8 metres apart for a continuous cover
• Low MaintenanceRequires no attention once established
• Pest ResistanceGenerally resilient
• Salt ToleranceOne of the most salt-tolerant plants in cultivation, growing in soils influenced by seawater
• Drought ToleranceThe fleshy foliage carries it through extended dry periods
• Erosion ControlSpreading stems bind soft estuarine sediments and loose dune sand

Austral Seablite is the plant for ground so salty that the question is not which species looks best but which species lives.