Halimione portulacoides aka Sea Purslane

Halimione portulacoides is a low evergreen shrub in the Amaranthaceae family. Its common names include sea purslane and purslane orach. Older names include Atriplex portulacoides and Obione portulacoides. Kew places its native range from Europe to the Mediterranean, including the Canary Islands. The RHS confirms that it is native to Britain and Ireland. It grows in temperate regions and keeps its leaves all year.

This shrub reaches about 2.6 feet [0.8 metres] in height. Its leaves are thick and fleshy, with a crisp texture. They have a salty taste and serve as an edible crop. Flowers appear from July to September. Each flower is either male or female. Both kinds grow on the same plant, and wind carries the pollen. The supplied sources give no details about its fruit or bark.

In the wild, sea purslane grows in salt marshes. It grows beside tidal channels and pools, where high tides flood the ground. This habitat helps explain its value for damp coastal sites. It tolerates salt in the soil and exposure to sea winds. PFAF lists both bog gardens and planted beds as places to grow it. Its evergreen leaves give these plantings foliage through the year.

Choose a sunny spot, though the plant also tolerates light shade. It grows in sand, loam, or clay, including poor soil. It accepts mildly acid, neutral, and alkaline ground, even very alkaline soil. Keep the soil moist or wet to match its stated needs. The supplied evidence gives no hardiness zone or minimum winter temperature. Seed, cuttings, and division offer ways to raise more plants. Sow ripe seed in autumn in a cold frame. Grow young plants under glass through their first winter. Plant them out after the last expected frost. Take half-ripe cuttings in July or August, or divide plants in spring.

Eat the leaves raw in salads or cook them as greens. Wash wild-picked leaves with care before use. PFAF reports no known hazards, but this is not a full safety assessment. It lists no known medicinal uses or other uses beyond food. Its weed assessment marks the plant as not weedy. The supplied sources name no pests or diseases.