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Goosefoot Family [Amaranthaceae] |
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13th June 2020, the shores of a tidal river, Suffolk. | Photo: © Holly Percy |
This shows the real shrubbiness of the plant to great effect. |
Sept 2019, upper saltmarsh area, Norfolk Coast. | Photo: © John Bishop |
Occupying coastal shingle or sand on the higher parts of saltmarshes this evergreen often woody shrub grows to 1.2m in height. |
Sept 2019, upper saltmarsh area, Norfolk Coast. | Photo: © John Bishop |
At the time this photo was taken it is just displaying the short, fat, semi-succulent leaves up long thin stems. |
7th July 2016, causeway, Isle of Purbeck, South England | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
18th June 2012, causeway, Isle of Purbeck, South England | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
Sept 2019, upper saltmarsh area, Norfolk Coast. | Photo: © John Bishop |
The leaves are glaucous-green because they are covered in tiny pimples which pump out excess salt. Salt is toxic to all plants; saltwater plants can tolerate a little salt by being able to exuding most of it from these kind of pores.
It is possible that the red areas of the cylindrical leaves have been infected with a gall of some sort(?): there are some tiny pustules or 'volcano craters' in the red areas - especially visible on the lower right-most one. |
7th July 2016, causeway, Isle of Purbeck, South England | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
These leaves are more rounded-triangular in cross-section, a bit like a banana or the (sharper angled leaves of Hottentot-Figs).
Near the top are some opened flowers displaying the cream-coloured anthers, and the cream coloured pollen. As-yet unopened flowers have a red Style(?) peeking out at the top of the 5 sepals. |
7th July 2016, causeway, Isle of Purbeck, South England | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
Here the styles (if that is what they were) have mostly turned brown-black. |
7th July 2016, causeway, Isle of Purbeck, South England | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
More anthers in the centre. |
18th June 2012, causeway, Isle of Purbeck, South England | Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone |
Another opened flower near the bottom. |
Some similarities to : Annual Sea-blite (Suaeda maritima) but that is much shorter (at 30 (to 75cm max) and usually has longer leaves (3 to 25mm, as apposed to the 5 to 18mm for Shrubby Sea-blite) - and the leaves of Annual Sea-blite are usually thicker (at 1 to 2mm thick, max 4mm) as opposed to 0.8 to 1.5mm for Shrubby Sea-blite). Also, the petal-less flowers usually only have 2 stigmas for Annual Sea-blite (3 stigmas for Shrubby Sea-blite).
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Suaeda | vera | ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ | Amaranthaceae |
Suaeda (Sea-Blites) |
Goosefoot Family [Amaranthaceae] |