Batis maritima
saltwort
Coastal Americas and Pacific islands
Overview
Batis maritima is a sprawling, semi-woody succulent subshrub growing 1-4 feet (0.3-1.2 m) tall and spreading several feet wide, often forming dense mats. The stems are pale green, fleshy, and rooting where they touch wet ground, becoming woody near the base. The leaves are succulent, narrow, and club-shaped, 0.5-1 inch (1-2.5 cm) long, pale yellow-green, and arranged in opposite pairs. Batis maritima is dioecious, with separate male and female plants bearing small, cone-like clusters of tiny pale flowers in the leaf axils through the warm season. It is a halophyte of coastal salt marshes, mangrove margins, tidal flats, and beaches around the warmer Americas and the Pacific. The plant tolerates flooding by salt water and stores salt in its fleshy tissue, which gives the foliage a salty taste. It stabilizes shifting coastal soil with its rooting stems but spreads aggressively where conditions suit it. Growth is fast in warm, wet, saline ground and stops in cold weather, limiting it to frost-free and near-frost-free coasts.
Native Range
Batis maritima is native to coastal regions of the warmer Americas, from the southern United States through the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central and South America, and it also occurs on Pacific islands including Hawaii. It grows in salt marshes, mangrove edges, tidal flats, and beaches.Suggested Uses
Batis maritima is used in coastal restoration, salt-marsh and shoreline stabilization, and saline or brackish landscape areas, spaced 24-36 inches (60-90 cm) apart. Its salt tolerance suits sites where ordinary plants fail. The young succulent shoots are also gathered as an edible salty green in some regions.How to Identify
Appearance
Size & Dimensions
Height1' - 4'
Width/Spread3' - 6'
Reaches mature size in approximately 3 years
Bloom Information
Detailed Descriptions
Flower Description
pale green to whitishFoliage Description
pale yellow-greenGrowing Conditions
Sun Requirements
Requires 6-12 hours of direct sunlight daily
• Full Sun: 6+ hours of direct sunlight
• Partial Shade: 3-6 hours of direct sunlight
• Full Shade: Less than 3 hours of direct sunlight