Common Name: Sea Rocket
Specific Name: Cakile edentula
Known Occurrence at Taylor Point:
Map Areas: Beach 1B
Category: Native, Herbaceous Plant
Ecological Considerations:
Cakile edentula, commonly known as Sea Rocket, is a succulent, tap-rooted annual plant with tangy edible leaves that grows as a short shrub primarily on beaches and dunes. A member of the mustard family, Sea Rocket grows about 6 to 20 inches high and larger specimens can grow as wide as they grow tall. Preferring well drained, sandy soil Sea Rocket is likely to be found in areas midway up beaches, out of the range of waves and tides, which can destroy individual plants, particularly during storm events.
It produces one leaf per node and the leaves grow alternately grow on the stem. The leaves display various teeth and lobe patterns. The Sea Rocket blooms from July through September. It’s flowers may be pink to red, blue to purple, or white and are separate, radially symmetrical, and have four petals. Sea Rocket seed pods have a rocket-like shape. The fruits are small and green, about 1-2 centimeters in diameter. The fruits are released at the end of each growing season and are dry. They do not split open when ripe.
Map areas where this plant can be used for revegetation:
Propagation Mechanisms/Strategies for Encouraging its Establishment:
Best Planting Practices/Options and Pros and Cons of Options:
Key Issues Regarding its Ecology:
Associated Ecological Benefits:
Similar to other flowering plants in the Mustard family, Sea Rocket’s flowers are probably cross-pollinated by small bees, flies, beetles, and small to medium-sized butterflies.
Because its succulent leaves can store water, Sea Rocket can withstand the desiccating effects of salt and wind and thus is a pioneer species of sandy beaches, colonizing areas that only a few plant species can tolerate. The root system helps to bind and stabilize the sand, while the decayed remnants of foliage add organic material and nutrients to the sand and soil. This enables other plants to colonize the beach, beginning the process of ecological succession.
Availability of Locally Sourced Seeds and Plants:
Case Studies of Native Plant Establishment Efforts/Lessons Learned:
Additional Photos:
Sources cited:
Go Botany
Wiki Sea Rocket
Illinois Wildflowers
Connecticut Botanical Society
Texas Wildflower Center
University of Victoria
Key Words:
Cakile edentula
Sea Rocket
Beach 1B