{{Short description|Species of succulent}} {{Speciesbox |image = Starr 080602-5547 Sesuvium portulacastrum.jpg |status = LC |status_system = IUCN3.1 |status_ref = <ref>{{cite iucn |last1=Bárrios |first1=S. |last2=Copeland |first2=A. |date=2021 |title=''Sesuvium portulacastrum'' |article-number=e.T124232167A192137469 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T124232167A192137469.en |access-date=19 December 2022}}</ref> |genus = Sesuvium |species = portulacastrum |authority = (L.) L. |synonyms_ref = <ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000432992 |title=''Sesuvium portulacastrum'' (L.) L. |date=2023 |website=World Flora Online |publisher=World Flora Consortium |access-date=3 February 2023}}</ref> |synonyms = {{collapsible list|bullets = true |title=<small>Synonymy</small> |''Portulaca portulacastrum'' <small>L. 1753</small> |''Aizoon canariense'' <small>Andrews</small> <small>1802 not L. 1753</small> |''Aizoon montevidense'' <small>Spreng. ex Rohr</small> |''Halimus maritima'' <small>Kuntze</small> |''Halimus portulacastrum'' <small>(L.) Kuntze</small> |''Mollugo maritima'' <small>Ser.</small> |''Psammanthe marina'' <small>Hance</small> |''Pyxipoma polyandrum'' <small>Fenzl</small> |''Sesuvium acutifolium'' <small>Miq.</small> |''Sesuvium brevifolium'' <small>Schumach. & Thonn.</small> |''Sesuvium edule'' <small>Wight ex Wall.</small> |''Sesuvium longifolium'' <small>Humb. & Bonpl. ex Willd.</small> |''Sesuvium ortegae'' <small>Spreng.</small> |''Sesuvium parviflorum'' <small>DC.</small> |''Sesuvium pedunculatum'' <small>Pers.</small> |''Sesuvium pentandrum'' <small>Elliott</small> |''Sesuvium repens'' <small>Willd.</small> |''Sesuvium revolutifolium'' <small>Ortega</small> |''Sesuvium revolutum'' <small>Pers.</small> |''Sesuvium sessile'' <small>Pers.</small> |''Sesuvium sessiliflorum'' <small>Dombey ex Rohrb.</small> |''Trianthema americana'' <small>Gillies ex Arn.</small> |''Trianthema polyandra'' <small>Blume</small> }}}}
'''''Sesuvium portulacastrum''''' is a sprawling perennial herb in the family Aizoaceae that grows in coastal and mangrove areas throughout much of the world.<ref name="WS">{{cite web |url=http://www.wildsingapore.com/wildfacts/plants/coastal/sesuvium/portulacastrum.htm |title=Gelang laut (''Sesuvium portulacastrum'') |last1=Tan |first1=Ria |date=2023 |website=Wild Singapore |access-date=3 February 2023 }}</ref> It grows in sandy clay, coastal limestone and sandstone, tidal flats and salt marshes,<ref name="FloraBase 2818"/> throughout much of the world. It is native to Africa, Asia, Australia, Hawai`i, North America and South America, and has naturalised in many places where it is not indigenous.<ref name="GRIN">[http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/tax_search.pl?Sesuvium%20portulacastrum ''Sesuvium portulacastrum''] at the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN)</ref>
It is commonly known as '''shoreline purslane'''<ref>{{PLANTS|id=SEPO2|taxon=Sesuvium portulacastrum|accessdate=11 November 2015}}</ref> or (ambiguously) "'''sea purslane'''," in English, '''''dampalit''''' in Tagalog and {{lang|zh|海马齿}} ''hǎimǎchǐ'' in Chinese.
== Description == ''Sesuvium portulacastrum'' is a vine up to {{convert|30|cm|in}} high, with thick, smooth stems up to {{convert|1|m|ft}} long. It has smooth, fleshy, glossy green leaves that are linear or lanceolate, from {{convert|1|-|7|cm|in}} long and {{convert|2|-|1.5|cm|in}} wide.<ref name="Flora of Australia">{{Cite book|author1=Prescott, A. |author2=Venning, J. |name-list-style=amp | year = 1984 | chapter = Aizoaceae | title = Flora of Australia | volume = 4 | location = Canberra | publisher = Australian Government Publishing Service}}</ref><ref name="FloraBase 2818">{{FloraBase | name = ''Sesuvium portulacastrum'' (L.) L. | id = 2818}}</ref>
Its flowers bud from the leaf axils. They are small, {{convert|0.5|cm|in}} in diameter and pink or purple in colour.<ref name="Flora of Australia"/><ref name="FloraBase 2818"/> They close at nighttime or when the sky is cloudy. They are pollinated by bees and moths.<ref name="WS"/>
The fruit is a round capsule, it has tiny black seeds that do not float.<ref name="WS"/>
== Taxonomy == It was first published as ''Portulaca portulacastrum'' by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.<ref name="APNI 257626">{{APNI | name = ''Portulaca portulacastrum'' L. | id = 257626}}</ref> Six years later Linnaeus transferred it into ''Sesuvium'',<ref name="APNI 5484">{{APNI | name = ''Sesuvium portulacastrum'' (L.) L. | id = 5484}}</ref> and it has remained at that name ever since, with the exception of an unsuccessful 1891 attempt by Otto Kuntze to transfer the species into a new genus as ''Halimus portulacastrum''.<ref name="APNI 31696">{{APNI | name = ''Halimus portulacastrum'' (L.) Kuntze | id = 31696}}</ref>
== Chemistry and medicine == Fatty acid composition:- palmitic acid (31.18%), oleic acid (21.15%), linolenic acid (14.18%) linoleic acid (10.63%), myristic acid (6.91%) and behenic acid (2.42%) The plant extract showed antibacterial and anticandidal activities and moderate antifungal activity.<ref>Chandrasekaran M., Senthilkumar A., Venkatesalu V "Antibacterial and antifungal efficacy of fatty acid methyl esters from the leaves of Sesuvium portulacastrum L. ". European Review for Medical and Pharmacological Sciences. 15 (7) (pp 775-780), 2011.</ref>
== Human consumption == [[File:Dampalit3jf.JPG|thumb|Atsara, a Philippine condiment often featuring ''dampalit'']] thumb ''Sesuvium portulacastrum'' is eaten in the Philippines, where it is called ''dampalit'' in Tagalog and "bilang" or "bilangbilang" in the Visayan language.<ref>Jes B. Tirol's Kapulongnan Binisaya-Ininglis/Dictionary Bisaya-English, p. 71, 2010</ref> The plant is primarily pickled and eaten as ''atchara'' (sweet traditional pickles).
== References == {{Reflist|30em}}
==External links== *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110302084500/http://www.alocasia.com.au/qld_saltmarsh_plants/herbarium/succulent/sea-purslane Online Field guide to Common Saltmarsh Plants of Queensland]
{{Taxonbar|from=Q2472430}}
portulacastrum Category:Caryophyllales of Australia Category:Flora of Europe Category:Flora of Asia Category:Flora of Africa Category:Flora of Southern America Category:Flora of Northern America Category:Medicinal plants Category:Plants described in 1759 Category:Botanical taxa named by Carl Linnaeus Category:Salt marsh plants Category:Halophytes