Scientific name: Suaeda maritima (L.) Dumort
Common name: Sea Blite
Description
Habit: Annual, to 30 cm high.
Stems: Spreading, trailing or erect, simple to much-branched, often woody at the base.
Leaves: Fleshy, linear, pale bluish green or reddish, 1-veined and with 2-3 bracteoles; flat on upperside, rounded on lowerside, entire, flexible, blunt-tipped.
Flowers: Green, hermaphrodite and female, stalkless in axils, fleshy; tepals 5; stamens 5; styles 2, ovary superior.
Fruits: A small nut, partly enclosed in persistent tepals.
Habitat: Stony, rocky, muddy, and rarely sandy shores, also on limestone pavement on Aran Islands, cliff-tops and around brackish pools.
Distribution: Frequent.
Native status: Native
Of conservation interest: No