''Batis'' (turtleweed, saltwort, beachwort, or pickleweed) is a genus of two species of flowering plants, the only genus in the family Bataceae. They are halophytic (salt tolerant) plants, native to the coastal salt marshes of warm temperate and tropical

America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

(''B. maritima'') and tropical Australasia (''B. argillicola'').

Morphology and taxonomy

Both species are evergreen, low

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

s growing to 10–70 cm tall, prostrate where colonizing new mud, but once rooted, growing bushy. The

leaves A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...

are small, swollen, fleshy, and narrowly club-shaped. They are bright green, but can also take on a reddish color. The flowers are small, produced in nonshowy spikes, flowering from midsummer to fall. The American species is

dioecious Dioecy (; ; adj. dioecious , ) is a characteristic of a species, meaning that it has distinct individual organisms (unisexual) that produce male or female gametes, either directly (in animals) or indirectly (in seed plants). Dioecious reproductio ...

, while the Australasian species is

monoecious Monoecy (; adj. monoecious ) is a sexual system in seed plants where separate male and female cones or flowers are present on the same plant. It is a monomorphic sexual system alongside gynomonoecy, andromonoecy and trimonoecy. Monoecy is conne ...

. Some

botanist Botany, also called , plant biology or phytology, is the science of plant life and a branch of biology. A botanist, plant scientist or phytologist is a scientist who specialises in this field. The term "botany" comes from the Ancient Greek wo ...

s divide ''B. maritima'' into five species, with ''B. californica'', ''B. fruticosa'', ''B. spinosa'' and ''B. vermiculatus'' split off, but this interpretation is not widely followed.

Range and habitat

''Batis'' has the ability to live in salty environments. When other plants are exposed to salty soil or water, they lose most of their stored water, but ''Batis'' has adapted to this environment and does not have these problems. To help it survive in this salty habitat, its fleshy leaves are covered with very fine hairs that reduce the amount of water the plant loses to the air. An example habitat of occurrence of ''Batis maritima'' is in the Petenes mangroves ecoregion of the Yucatán. Not many animals can eat it because it is too salty, but white-tailed deer eat ''B. maritima'' as part of their diets. Eastern pygmy-blue butterflies collect the

nectar Nectar is a sugar-rich liquid produced by plants in glands called nectaries or nectarines, either within the flowers with which it attracts pollinating animals, or by extrafloral nectaries, which provide a nutrient source to animal mutualists ...

from its flowers. ''B. maritima'' is becoming rare in some areas, and some scientists think it should be added to the United States

endangered species An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching and inv ...

list, though it has also become an

invasive species An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...

in Hawaii after accidental introduction there.

Terminology

The genus '' Salsola'' is also sometimes known as saltwort, but is unrelated.

Uses

''Batis maritima'' was used by Native Americans as a food, the roots were chewed (like sugar cane) or boiled into a beverage, while the stems and leaves were eaten raw, cooked or pickled. ''B. argillicola'' is also eaten as a green vegetable. An analysis of saltwort's peppercorn-sized seeds has revealed they are extremely nutritious, having high quantities of proteins, oils, and

starch Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets ...

e

The seeds are edible, having a nutty taste, and they can be added to salads, toasted, or even made into miniature

popcorn Popcorn (also called popped corn, popcorns or pop-corn) is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated; the same names also refer to the foodstuff produced by the expansion. A popcorn kernel's strong hull contains the se ...

.Article on the studies done on Saltwort by Massimo Marcone
. It was originally published at newscientist.com

/ref> The oil is almost identical to safflower oil, which is used for cooking and in salad dressings, as well as for making

margarine Margarine (, also , ) is a spread used for flavoring, baking, and cooking. It is most often used as a substitute for butter. Although originally made from animal fats, most margarine consumed today is made from vegetable oil. The spread was orig ...

. The seeds also contain beneficial antioxidants, such as tocopherols, which are thought to fight cancer.

References

''Batis argillicola'' in Flora of Western Australia''Batis argillicola'' in Online Field guide to Common Saltmarsh Plants of Queensland
{{Taxonbar, from=Q134459 Brassicales Brassicales genera Halophytes