Flora of North America species comparison

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Batis maritima

Batis

beachwort, saltwort, turtleweed, vidrillos

saltwort, turtleweed
Habit Plants usually less than 1 m. Main stems 2–4 cm diam. at base; branches rooting at nodes and tips. Plants relatively low, sprawling.
Leaf

blades 5–20 × 2–3 mm, apex rounded to acuminate, adaxial surface flattened.

blades obovoid to oblanceoloid.
Spikes

6 × 4 mm, flowers inconspicuous.

subsessile, ellipsoid, subglobose, or turbinate [lax, bracteate, flowers solitary].
Flowers

anemophilous;

filaments slender, or sometimes winged;

anthers versatile, dorsifixed;

stigmas sessile, papillate.
Staminate flowers

tepals spatulate or tapered, 3 × 3 mm;

filaments 2 mm;

anthers 0.7 mm.

Pistillate flowers

connate at maturity, subsessile, 6 × 4 mm.

Seeds

3 × 1 mm.

narrow, flattened;

coats thin.
Syncarps

green, 10 × 6–7 mm, spongy.

each with 1–4 seeds (pyrenes).
x

= 11.
2n

= 22.

Batis maritima

Batis
Phenology Flowering (Jan-)Apr–Sep [year-round in the tropics].
Habitat Saline or brackish, often wet, open, maritime shores, salt marshes, dune swales, saline or brackish lagoons, sandy shell plateaus, shore hummocks, muddy or sandy tidal flats, often with mangroves, especially Avicennia
Elevation 0-10 m (0-0 ft)
Distribution
from FNA
AL; CA; FL; GA; LA; NC; SC; TX; Mexico; Central America; West Indies; n South America; Pacific Islands (Galapagos Islands, Hawaii)
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
from USDA
Mexico; Central America; South America; s North America; West Indies; Pacific Islands (Galapagos Islands, Hawaii, s New Guinea); Australia
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Batis maritima probably is naturalized in Hawaii (W. Hillebrand 1888). Plants frequently cover large areas in dense, tangled stands and are tolerant of very high salinity and water-logging, including inundation for considerable periods (R. F. Thorne 1954).

The salty leaves and stems of Batis maritima have been eaten in salads, used as potherbs, or pickled (G. K. Rogers 1982c). According to K. D. Perkins and W. W. Payne (1978), when eaten in large quantities by livestock, B. maritima is thought to be poisonous. Like other halophytes, it has been burned for ash. Also, it has been used medicinally to prevent or treat skin problems, ulcers, kidney and bladder stones, and other medicinal problems (Rogers).

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Species 2 (1 in the flora).

Batis argillicola P. Royen occurs along the coasts of southern New Guinea and northern Australia. It differs from B. maritima in being monoecious and having solitary flowers, shorter leaves, tepals of staminate flowers each with one vascular bundle and a tapered base, and winged filaments. Wood anatomy and habit of the two species are similar. There was an earlier dubious chromosome count of x = 9.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
Source FNA vol. 7, p. 187. FNA vol. 7, p. 187.
Parent taxa Bataceae > Batis Bataceae
Subordinate taxa
B. maritima
Synonyms B. californica
Name authority Linnaeus: Syst. Nat. ed. 10, 2: 1289. (1759) P. Browne: Civ. Nat. Hist. Jamaica, 356. (1756)
Web links 
Unless otherwise noted, all data comes from the online version of the Flora of North America, who have made most of their content available via a Creative Commons license (CC BY 4.0).



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