Scientific Name: Suaeda australis

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  • Common Name:
    Seablite
  • Type:
    Herb low dense spreading , sometimes a shrub
  • Family:
    CHENOPODIACEAE
  • Flowers:
    Green flowers September-December, terminal sprays. Flowers and fruits, 1.5-2 mm, form on dense leafy spikes
  • Fruit:
    Globular fruits to 2 mm wide; black seeds.
  • Vegetation Type:
    Tidal Wetlands, salt flats, Drier, well drained, mid-lower tidal zone.
  • Species List:
    Bush food, Salt Marsh, Mangrove flats Regional Ecosystem 12.1.2.
Cultural Notes

TAKE CARE! Some information about bush foods and medicines may be anecdotal. Correct identification and preparation is essential:

Bush food: Early settlers used leaves as vegetable and pickle

Leaves pleasantly salty to nibble fresh. They also make a useful cooked vegetable. (Cribb)

Identification Notes

Leaves: Erect slender leaves often reddish. Thin succulent with a pointed striated stem|Freshly produced and shaded foliage is soft green. Become pink for purplish with age. Sward may appear rosy red from a distance.||Branches from the base|Occasional rooting branches||Shrub-like appearance||||Common on better drained mangrove flats and at base of sand dunes along seashore. (Stanley & Ross)