| Batis | |
|---|---|
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| Male flowers onBatis maritima | |
Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Clade: | Rosids |
| Order: | Brassicales |
| Family: | Bataceae Mart. exPerleb[1] |
| Genus: | Batis L. |
| Species | |
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Batis (turtleweed,saltwort,beachwort, orpickleweed) is a genus of two species offlowering plants, the only genus in the familyBataceae. They arehalophytic (salt tolerant) plants, native to the coastalsalt marshes of warm temperate and tropicalAmerica (B. maritima) and tropicalAustralasia (B. argillicola).
Both species areevergreen, lowshrubs growing to 10–70 cm tall, prostrate where colonizing new mud, but once rooted, growing bushy. Theleaves are small, swollen, fleshy, and narrowly club-shaped. They are bright green, but can also take on a reddish color. Theflowers are small, produced in nonshowy spikes, flowering from midsummer to fall. The American species isdioecious, while the Australasian species ismonoecious.
Somebotanists divideB. maritima into five species, withB. californica,B. fruticosa,B. spinosa andB. vermiculatus split off, but this interpretation is not widely followed.
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, butBatis 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 ofBatis maritima is in the Petenes mangroves ecoregion of the Yucatán.[2]
Not many animals can eat it because it is too salty, butwhite-tailed deer eatB. maritima as part of their diets. Eastern pygmy-blue butterflies collect thenectar from its flowers.B. maritima is becoming rare in some areas, and some scientists think it should be added to theUnited Statesendangered species list, though it has also become aninvasive species inHawaii after accidental introduction there.
The genusSalsola is also sometimes known as saltwort, but is unrelated.
Batis maritima was used byNative Americans as a food, theroots were chewed (likesugar cane) or boiled into a beverage, while the stems and leaves were eaten raw, cooked or pickled.B. argillicola is also eaten as agreen vegetable.
An analysis of saltwort's peppercorn-sized seeds has revealed they are extremely nutritious, having high quantities ofproteins, oils, andstarches[2]. Theseeds are edible, having a nutty taste, and they can be added to salads, toasted, or even made into miniaturepopcorn.[3] The oil is almost identical tosafflower oil, which is used for cooking and in salad dressings, as well as for makingmargarine. The seeds also contain beneficial antioxidants, such as tocopherols, which are thought to fight cancer.
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