Sesuvium portulacastrum (L.) L.
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Authority
Acevedo-Rodríguez, Pedro & collaborators. 1996. Flora of St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mem. New York Bot. Gard. 78: 1-581.
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Family
Aizoaceae
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Scientific Name
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Description
Species Description - Decumbent, succulent, perennial herb, 10-30 cm long, manybranched from a taprooted base; stems cylindrical, succulent, yellowish green, reddish and rooting at nodes. Leaf blades 2-4 x 0.5-0.8 cm, oblanceolate, elliptic or oblong, fleshy (2-3 mm thick), glabrous, the apex acute or obtuse, the base acute, the margins entire; petioles 3-5 mm long, yellowish. Flowers solitary in leaf axils. Calyx showy, funnel-shaped, ca. 1 cm long, the sepals spreading, lavender or white within, green on lower surface, with a green hornlike projection; stamens numerous, in a columnar structure, the anthers deep pink or white; ovary ovoid with 3-5 distinct stigmas. Capsule conical, whitish, 9-11 mm long. Seeds lenticular, black, ca. 1 mm diam.
Distribution and Ecology - Common along saline beach dunes. Fish Bay (A2815), Ram Head Point (A2915). Expected to be on all islands of the Virgin Islands; a polymorphic species with pantropical distribution.