Scientific Name
Cakile maritima Scop.
Common Name(s)
European Searocket
Synonym(s)
Bunias cakile, Cakile cakile, Cakile hispanica, Cakile maritima subsp. maritima, Crucifera cakile, Rapistrum cakile, Rapistrum maritimum
Scientific Classification
Family: Brassicaceae
Tribe: Brassiceae
Genus: Cakile
Description
Cakile maritima is an annual succulent with a slender or stout taproot and branched, prostrate or ascending stems that bear lobed, green leaves. The stems can grow up to 18 inches (45 cm) long. Leaves are fleshy, alternately spaced on the stem, and different from the top and bottom of the stem. The lower leaves are obovate or oblanceolate, while the upper ones are oblong.
The flowers are up to 0.6 inches (1.5 cm) in diameter, have five petals in shades of white, lilac, or purple, and appear in summer. The fruits are siliques in an oblong shape, green maturing to brown, and contain two yellow or brown, smooth seeds.
Origin
Cakile maritima is native to the temperate areas of Europe, North Africa, and West Asia. It grows on the foreshores near large dune systems and in shingle banks.
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. Growing Searocket prefers sandy conditions. As a succulent, the plant 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 deters 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.
Links
- Back to genus Cakile
- Succupedia: Browse succulents by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, Origin, or cacti by Genus
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