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Honckenya peploides

Common name:	Sea Sandwort	Family:	Caryophyllaceae
Author:	(L.)Ehrh.	Botanical references:	17
Synonyms:	Arenaria peploides (L.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Coasts of temperate and arctic regions of Eurasia, including Britain, and N. America.
Habitat:	By sea coasts on mobile sand and sandy shingle[17].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	3	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	0

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	Arenaria diffusa[B,P] Arenaria peploides var. diffusa[B,P] H. diffusa[B,P] H. peploides ssp. diffusa[B,P] H. peploides ssp. peploides[P] Honkenya peploides[L] Houckenya peploides[H]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Ovate Sandwort [H], Ovate-leaved Sea Purslane [H], Sea Chickweed [E], Sea Sandwort [L], Seaside Sandplant [B,P], Zeepostelein [D],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Caryophyllales. Pink family

Physical Characteristics

Perennial growing to 0.2m by 1m at a medium rate. It is hardy to zone 5 and is not frost tender. It is in flower from May to August, and the seeds ripen from July to September. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Insects, wind and wind-blown sand. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 3/5 for edibility and 0/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils, requires well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Leaves; Seed.

Young shoots - raw or cooked and used as a potherb[2, 61, 183]. A sour taste[257]. A delicious flavour, they are rich in vitamins A and C[172, 257]. They are at their best before the plant flowers[172]. The leaves can also be fermented and used like sauerkraut[115, 257]. In Iceland the plant is steeped in sour whey and allowed to ferment. The resulting liquor is said to taste like olive oil and is used as a beverage[183].
Seed - used as a garnish or ground into a powder and added to flour[172]. Very fiddly to harvest[172].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

None known

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

Requires a well-drained soil and an open sunny position. Plants are tolerant of short periods of immersion in salt water[17]. When well sited, the plant can spread quite freely at the roots[K].
Grows well in an outdoor bed at Kew[K].

Propagation

Seed - sow March in a cold frame. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and plant them out in the summer.
Division in early spring. Very easy, larger clumps can be replanted direct into their permanent positions, though it is best to pot up smaller clumps and grow them on in a cold frame until they are rooting well. Plant them out in the spring.

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Arenaria peploides (a possible synonym).

[E] Ethnobotany Data (common names, uses, countries) from the Ethnobotany Database.

References for Honckenya peploides ssp. diffusa (a possible synonym).

[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Honckenya peploides ssp. peploides (a possible synonym).

[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Honkenya peploides (a possible synonym).

[L] Scientific and Common Names (some photos) from Lepidoptera and some other life forms

References for Houckenya peploides (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database

References for honckenya peploides (a possible synonym).

[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures
[HP] PhotoFrom Henriette's plant pictures

References for the family Caryophyllaceae.

[CHINA] Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[2] Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications 1972 ISBN 0-486-20459-6
Lots of entries, quite a lot of information in most entries and references.

[17] Clapham, Tootin and Warburg. Flora of the British Isles. Cambridge University Press 1962
A very comprehensive flora, the standard reference book but it has no pictures.

[61] Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable 1974 ISBN 0094579202
Forget the sexist title, this is one of the best books on the subject. Lists a very extensive range of useful plants from around the world with very brief details of the uses. Not for the casual reader.

[115] Johnson. C. P. The Useful Plants of Great Britain.
Written about a hundred years ago, but still a very good guide to the useful plants of Britain.

[172] Schofield. J. J. Discovering Wild Plants - Alaska, W. Canada and the Northwest.
A nice guide to some useful plants in that area.

[183] Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications 1990 ISBN 0-9628087-0-9
Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
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