| Samphire, Silverhead
|
| Blutaparon vermiculare
|
| Amaranthaceae
|
Landscape Uses:
|
|
Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. |
Ecological Restoration Notes: |
|
A common coastal plant, but most frequent in tidal marshes. |
| Availability: |
|
Rarely grown by native plant nurseries. |
| Description: |
| |
Small creeping herb. |
| Height: |
| |
Typically 2-4 inches in height or smaller. Spreading along the ground and forming mats. |
| Growth Rate: |
| |
Moderate to fast. |
| Range: |
| |
Monroe County Keys north to Volusia and Levy counties; Louisiana and Texas; West Indies, Mexico, Central America, South America and western Africa. |
| Habitats: |
| |
Coastal wetlands and, less frequently, coastal uplands. |
| Soils: |
| |
Wet to moist, periodically inundated brackish or saline soils. |
| Nutritional Requirements: |
| |
Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive. |
| Salt Water Tolerance: |
| |
High; tolerates flooding by salt water. |
| Salt Wind Tolerance: |
| |
High; can tolerate moderate amounts of salt wind without significant injury. |
| Drought Tolerance: |
| |
Low; requires moist to wet soils and is intolerant of long periods of drought. |
| Light Requirements: |
| |
Full sun. |
| Flower Color: |
| |
White. |
| Flower Characteristics: |
| |
Semi-showy. |
| Flowering Season: |
| |
All year; peak in spring. |
| Fruit: |
| |
Inconspicuous utricle. |
| Wildlife and Ecology: |
| |
|
| Horticultural Notes: |
| |
Can be grown from cuttings. |
| Comments: |
| |
|
|
|
|
Jennifer Possley, 2016 Big Munson Island, Monroe County, Florida, USA, Enlarge
|
|
|
|