Batis maritima

Batis maritima L.

Common Names: Salt Wort, Turtle Weed

Family: Bataceae

Habit: Batis maritima is a succulent becoming woody perennial up to 25 m in height and with succulent stems spreading to create large colonies. Leaves arranged opposite, sessile, to 3 cm in length, linear to clavate with and entire margin and acute leaf apex.

The incomplete, imperfect, actinomorphic flowers are in succulent spikes. In the staminate flower the calyx is fused.  The corolla with 4 fused, green petals.  There are 4 unfused stamens and no carpel. In the carpellate flowers there are no sepals, petals, or stamens and just a single ovary with 4 locules partially embedded in the spike and subtended by a bract.

Habitat: Batis maritima grows in Mangroves, coastal salt flats and around saline lakes.

Distribution: Batis maritima occurs throughout the island groupings of the Lucayan Archipelago and throughout the western hemisphere tropics and subtropics in coastal areas.

Medicinal/Cultural/Economic usage: Batis maritima is not known to be used medicinally in the Bahamas.