Sesuvium portulacastrum
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)[1]
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Aizoaceae
Genus:	Sesuvium
Species:	S. portulacastrum
Binomial name
Sesuvium portulacastrum (L.) L.
Synonyms[2]
Synonymy Portulaca portulacastrum L. 1753 Aizoon canariense Andrews 1802 not L. 1753 Aizoon montevidense Spreng. ex Rohr Halimus maritima Kuntze Halimus portulacastrum (L.) Kuntze Mollugo maritima Ser. Psammanthe marina Hance Pyxipoma polyandrum Fenzl Sesuvium acutifolium Miq. Sesuvium brevifolium Schumach. & Thonn. Sesuvium edule Wight ex Wall. Sesuvium longifolium Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd. Sesuvium ortegae Spreng. Sesuvium parviflorum DC. Sesuvium pedunculatum Pers. Sesuvium pentandrum Elliott Sesuvium repens Willd. Sesuvium revolutifolium Ortega Sesuvium revolutum Pers. Sesuvium sessile Pers. Sesuvium sessiliflorum Dombey ex Rohrb. Trianthema americana Gillies ex Arn. Trianthema polyandra Blume

Sesuvium portulacastrum is a sprawling perennial herb in the family Aizoaceae that grows in coastal and mangrove areas throughout much of the world.^[3] It grows in sandy clay, coastal limestone and sandstone, tidal flats and salt marshes,^[4] throughout much of the world. It is native to Africa, Asia, Australia, Hawai`i, North America and South America, and has naturalised in many places where it is not indigenous.^[5]

It is commonly known as shoreline purslane^[6] or (ambiguously) "sea purslane," in English, dampalit in Tagalog and 海马齿 hǎimǎchǐ in Chinese.

Description

Sesuvium portulacastrum is vine up to 30 centimetres (12 in) high, with thick, smooth stems up to 1 metre (3.3 ft) long. It has smooth, fleshy, glossy green leaves that are linear or lanceolate, from 1–7 centimetres (0.39–2.76 in) long and 2–1.5 centimetres (0.79–0.59 in) wide.^[7][4]

Its flowers come from at the leaf axils, they are tiny, 0.5 centimetres (0.20 in) in diameter and pink or purple in colour.^[7][4] They close at night time or when the sky is cloudy, they are pollinated by bees and moths.^[3]

The fruit is a round capsule, it has tiny black seeds that do not float.^[3]

Taxonomy

It was first published as Portulaca portulacastrum by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.^[8] Six years later Linnaeus transferred it into Sesuvium,^[9] and it has remained at that name ever since, with the exception of an unsuccessful 1891 attempt by Otto Kuntze to transfer the species into a new genus as Halimus portulacastrum.^[10]

Chemistry and medicine

Fatty acid composition:- palmitic acid (31.18%), oleic acid (21.15%), linolenic acid (14.18%) linoleic acid (10.63%), myristic acid (6.91%) and behenic acid (2.42%) The plant extract showed antibacterial and anticandidal activities and moderate antifungal activity.^[11]

Human consumption

Sesuvium portulacastrum is eaten in the Philippines, where it is called dampalit in Tagalog and "bilang" or "bilangbilang" in the Visayan language.^[12] The plant is primarily pickled and eaten as atchara (sweet traditional pickles).