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Frankenia portulacifolia
Also called St Helena Tea Plant, Tea Plant, Saint Helena Tea Plant
Frankenia portulacifolia, also called Saint Helena tea or tea plant, is a species of salt-tolerant plant in the Frankeniaceae family. It is a subshrub or shrub endemic to the island of Saint Helena. Its natural habitats are inhospitable, dry and rocky areas and rocky shores, often on weathered volcanic ash. As its total population has been estimated at only around 3,500 individuals, it is currently classified as Critically Endangered by the IUCN.
The species was first described as Beatsonia portulacifolia by William Roxburgh in 1816. In 1825 Kurt Polycarp Joachim Sprengel placed the species in genus Frankenia as F. portulacifolia.
Frankenia capitata · Frankenia cordata · Quartz Sea Heath · Hairy Sea Heath · James' seaheath · Johnston's seaheath · Sea Heath · Palmer's seaheath · Sea Heath · European seaheath · Alkali seaheath · Bristly Sea Heath
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Frankenia portulacifolia by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts are shared under the same licence.
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.
