WorldFloraDB - Crambe maritima

Characteristics

Plants succulent; roots thick. Stems 2-5(-7.5) dm, stout. Basal leaves (cabbagelike); petiole 4-16 cm; blade oblong, or elliptic-ovate to ovate, 10-40 cm × 80-300 mm. Cauline leaves similar to basal, (proximal) blade margins irregularly pin-nate or sinuate-dentate. Fruiting pedicels (10-)15-30(-37) mm, stout. Flowers: sepals 3-4 × 2-3.5 mm; petals (6-)8-12(-15) × (4-)5-7 mm; filaments 3-4 mm; anthers 1-1.5 mm. Fruits: proximal segment 0.1-0.4 cm, slightly thicker than pedicel; terminal segment 1-seeded, subglobose to ovoid, 0.7-1.2(-1.4) cm × 6-8 mm, thick. Seeds 4-5(-6) mm. 2n = 30, 60.

More

A cabbage family herb. It is a perennial plant up to 75 cm high. It spreads and forms mounds. The stems are thick. It has grey-green wavy edged leaves. The leaves can be up to 30 cm long. They are like cabbage leaves and arranged in a ring at the base. A robust flowering stalk comes from the centre of the leaves. The flowers are white and in clusters. These can be 0.6 m across.

Life form

perennial

Growth form

herb

Growth support

-

Foliage retention

deciduous

Sexuality

hermaphrodite

Pollination

Spread

hydrochory

Mature width (meter)

0.35 - 0.55

Mature height (meter)

0.5 - 0.6

Root system

tap-root

Rooting depth (meter)

-

Root diameter (meter)

-

Flower color

Blooming months

Jan	Feb	Mar
Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep
Oct	Nov	Dec

Fruit color

-

Fruiting months

-

Nitrogen fixer

-

Photosynthetic pathway

c3

Environment

It is a temperate plant. It grows in coastal areas. It grows on shingle beaches in Britain. Hobart Botanical Gardens. It suits hardiness zones 5-9.

More

Coastal sands, shingle, rocks and cliffs near the sea, often on the drift line.

Light
Soil humidity
Soil texture
Soil acidity
Soil nutriment
Hardiness (USDA)

Usage

The rhubarb like leaf stalks are eaten blanched. They are boiled and eaten like asparagus. The leaves can be boiled, minced, seasoned with garlic and eaten as a spinach. The leaves are used in soups.

Uses	environmental use food medicinal
Edible	flowers fruits leaves roots shoots stems
Therapeutic use	Tuberculosis, lymph node (whole plant)
Human toxicity	-
Animal toxicity	-

Cultivation

The plants can be grown from seed. They can also be grown by root cuttings. In early spring the plants are covered with terracotta pots to force them and make the leaves white. This can also be done using balck plastic of covering with sand. The leaves and flowering stalks are harvested before they unfold.

Mode	cuttings divisions seedlings
Germination duration (days)	21 - 42
Germination temperacture (C°)	5
Germination luminosity	-
Germination treatment	-
Minimum temperature (C°)	-29
Optimum temperature (C°)	14 - 24
Size	-
Vigor	-
Productivity	-