What's so special about pickleweed?
Information about the growth and adaptations

• Succulents
• Parenchyma cells with no chloroplasts for water storage
• Halophytes  (salt tolerant-adapted for growing in or near saline waters)
• Use a Sodium Potassium Pump or something like it take in nutrients
• Water uptake through roots
• Set an Osmotic gradient for getting in and not losing by storing ions in the vacuoles of cells
• Stems well developed and succulent-reduced leaf size.
• Jointed stems.
• Air diffuses through stomata and roots for Oxygen

• Special way of Eliminating salt by isolating it in the modified leaves and stems.  In the Fall, these terminal compartments turn pink or red, the joints dry up and break off after winter rains, getting rid of all the stored salt with the plant tissues.

• Reproduce by seed
• Germinates readily in seawater and saturated soil (James and Zedler 2000)
• Decomposition-much of the production drops to the marsh surface during and following the growing season but little carbon or nitrogen goes into the  nutrient cycle.   There is also little  herbivory on living plants.  The detritus is also a poor food source, it supports little or no food growth for organisms such as the horse mussel.  The plant material difficult to digestbecause of the structural carbohydrates and lignin and cellulose.

(H.M. Page 1997)


A conglomerate of horse mussel on the mudflat.