Verrucose Seapurslane (Sesuvium verrucosum)
Description
Sesuvium verrucosum is a species of flowering plant in the iceplant family known by the common names western sea-purslane and verrucose sea-purslane. It is native to the Americas, where it can be found in the southwestern quadrant of the United States, Mexico, and parts of South America. It grows in many types of saline and alkaline habitat types on the coast and inland, including salt marshes and other saline wetlands, alkali flats, and drying desert washes. It is a perennial herb producing many branching prostrate stems up to a metre long, forming a mat up to two metres wide. The herbage is verrucose, covered densely in crystalline bumps. The stems are lined with leaves of varying shapes which measure up to 4 cm long. Flowers occur in the leaf axils. They have no petals, but the five, pointed sepals are generally bright pink to reddish or orange in color with a thick, verrucose outer surface. At the centre of the flower is a ring of stamens around the central ovary. The fruit is a capsule about 500 mm long containing many seeds.
Taxonomic tree
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Domain: Eukarya
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Kingdom: Plantae
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Phylum: Magnoliophyta
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Class: Magnoliopsida
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Order: Caryophyllales
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Family: Aizoaceae
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Genus: Sesuvium
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