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Cakile maritima
Also called European Searocket, European Sea Rocket, Two Head Sea Rocket
Sea rocket is a low, fleshy annual of sandy coasts across Europe and North Africa, grown mainly as a coastal or dune plant rather than a garden plant. It needs full sun, sandy well-drained soil and little water.
Cakile maritima, sea rocket (Britain and Ireland) or European searocket (North America), is a common plant in the mustard family Brassicaceae. It is widespread in Europe, North Africa and western Asia, especially on coastlines. It can now be found in many other areas of the world where it has been introduced. It is present on the west and east coasts of North America, where it has the potential to become an invasive species. This is an annual plant which grows in clumps or mounds in the sand on beaches and bluffs. The shiny leaves are fleshy, green and tinted with purple or magenta, and long-lobed. It has white to light purple flowers and sculpted, segmented, corky brown fruits one to three centimetres long. The fruits float and are water-dispersed.
Due to its highly efficient antioxidant system, it can withstand even high doses of Cadmium pollution.
Cakile maritima is native to temperate areas of North Africa, western Asia and Europe.
The leaves are edible, preferably cooked, and not eaten in great quantity. The seed oil can be used for industrial applications.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cakile maritima by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
