Scientific Name
Cakile edentula (Bigelow) Hook.
Common Name(s)
American Searocket
Synonym(s)
Cakile edentula var. edentula, Bunias edentula, Cakile aegyptia var. edentula, Cakile americana, Cakile californica, Cakile lanceolata var. edentula, Cakile lanceolata subsp. edentula, Cakile maritima var. americana
Scientific Classification
Family: Brassicaceae
Tribe: Brassiceae
Genus: Cakile
Description
Cakile edentula is a succulent shrub with thick edible leaves that alternately grow on the stem and have various teeth and lobe patterns. It grows up to 2 feet (60 cm) tall. Flowers can be pink to red, blue to purple, or white. They are radially symmetrical and have four petals. Fruits are small, green, and up to 0.8 inches (2 cm) in diameter.
Hardiness
It is grown as an annual plant, so it has no USDA hardiness zone.
How to Grow and Care
Searocket grows and exists in the sandy soil closer to the ocean than the beach grass. This plant actually prefers sandy conditions. As a succulent, it holds water, making growing Searocket even easier.
When growing Searocket, don't include it as part of a vegetable garden. Companions for Searocket cultivation must be of the same family. If the Searockets detect roots of other plants close to it, an "allelopathic" action occurs. Searocket releases a substance into the root zone that stunts or otherwise deter plants of other types.
Searocket puts a long taproot into the soil and does not like to be moved. Start it from the double-jointed seed pods when they appear on the plant and mature, following the small purple blooms. This taproot makes the plant an excellent choice to hold and stabilize sandy soils that may be eroding.
See more at How to Grow and Care for a Searocket.
Origin
This species is native to North America.
Links
- Back to genus Cakile
- Succupedia: Browse succulents by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, Origin, or cacti by Genus
Photo Gallery
Advertisements