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Shoreline Sea-purslane

Sesuvium portulacastrum

Found in island end sand flats and sea beaches; less typically inland (LA) in saline marshes or seeps (associated with salt domes). FloraQuest, phone app (app page) What its natural habitat tells you

36
Good

Native to Alabama. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 71%

Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to wet
Will it fit your yard?

At a glance

Life cycle
Perennial

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Leaves · Bloom

Height and bloom: NC species account not read yet.

Spread and leaves: no source found yet.

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 3 Alabama counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 3

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

Seeps and springs

Places where groundwater keeps the soil or rock wet, such as seepage slopes and spring runs.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Alabama. Shared habitat, not food. 98 animals.

All wildlife of Alabama

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

4CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including AL

Genus host records with ranges including AL · Sesuvium

  • Achyra rantalisGarden Webworm Moth
  • Ascia monusteGreat Southern White
  • Brephidium pseudofeaEastern Pygmy Blue
  • Spoladea recurvalisHawaiian Beet Webworm
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
1BeesSoutheastern regional records

Southeastern regional records · Sesuvium

Individual names are not available yet.

Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
0Specialist beesPollen specialists
2BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Sesuvium

  • Anas creccaGreen-winged Teal
  • Fulica americanaAmerican Coot
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Aizoaceae
Flower color
Pink or purple

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope
  • Flower color · “Pink or purple” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Life cycle · “Perennial” · Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center
  • Light · “Full sun (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
  • Soil · “Dry; Moist; Wet (documented habitat)” · FloraQuest: Carolinas, Georgia (Southeastern Flora Team), phone app (app page) · Carolinas and Georgia
Also known as

Shoreline Sea purslane

Conservation status

Alabama rankSNR
Global rankG5
AL statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

In your garden

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Sources