Sea plant
Sea purslane
Halimione portulacoides
(VIId) Eastern English Channel, (VIIe) Western English Channel
Zones de pêche
Wild
Origine
—
Taille minimale
Description
Obione (its most common French name) is a small, perennial subshrub in the Amaranthaceae family. It is a plant that starts out creeping at the base and then grows upright, generally reaching a height of 20 to 50 cm. Its leaves are opposite, fleshy, and lanceolate to spatulate in shape. They have a characteristic silvery-gray or bluish-gray color due to the presence of tiny scaly hairs that protect the plant from salt. The flowers are very small, greenish to yellowish, and clustered in inconspicuous terminal racemes (blooming from July to September).
Habitat
It is typical of salt marshes (schorre) and coastal marshes. It is found mainly in the upper part of intertidal zones, where the ground is regularly but briefly covered by high tide. It prefers well-drained muddy or sandy-muddy soils. It is often seen lining small drainage channels in salt marshes, as it prefers soil that does not remain completely waterlogged (it also helps stabilize the banks).
Distribution
It is widely distributed along temperate coasts. In Europe, it is very common along the coasts of the Atlantic, the English Channel, and the North Sea (from Denmark to the Iberian Peninsula). It is found throughout the Mediterranean basin and along the coasts of North Africa as far south as Senegal. It is also found along the coasts of Western Asia.