Batis maritima

Plants are dioecious, perennial sub shrubs 0.1–1.5 m tall and form dense colonies. The succulent leaves are opposite and sessile. The small, white flowers of Batis maritima are self-incompatible and the morphology of the pollen indicate that the plant is wind pollinated. ==Geographical distribution and environmental requirements==

Batis maritima occurs on both Atlantic and Pacific tropical coasts of the three Americas and the Caribbean Islands. The plant is not seriously affected by insects, disease, or grazing, but the shoots cannot bear sand coverage. ==Product use==

Leaves occasionally are added to salads in Puerto Rico, it has also been used as a pot herb, puree and pickle . The seeds are added to salads, they can be toasted or “popped” like corn. The Comcáac used the roots to sweeten coffee before they had access to sugar. The yellow to golden hued meal is used for food. Seeds Main component of seeds are carbohydrates. The extremely small starch granule size, could be useful for other food and non food applications, which require small starch granules. Overall low values of soluble sugars, especially sucrose, are found. The seed contains high levels of crude protein. The vast majority of its storage proteins are of the aqueous soluble form. It is also a good source of the essential amino acids lysine and methionine which are usually the limiting amino acids found in most studied cereal grains. Seeds contain substantial amounts of oil (25.0%) similar to those found in safflower, cottonseed and sunflower. With a linoleic acid C 18:2 content of 73% it has one of the highest C18:2 contents of any oil known. It also rich in tocopherols, particularly a-tocopherol 0.07% (700 mg/kg) and shows high levels of phytosterol 2427.4 mg/kg. Those compounds are considered to be very healthy. The seeds are rich in elements like phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and iron (Fe). Examination of the seed for sodium (Na) did not reveal any elevated accumulation of this element (i.e., 500 ppm) which would be of nutritional concern. ==Physiology==

It is recognized as a major colonizer after mangroves are destroyed by hurricanes. Saltwort grows slowly in soils with high salt concentrations but it suffers little competition from other plants. ==References==