Top left, sea kale; right, sea beet or sea spinach; bottom left, summer purslane; right, oysterplant

by Janet Richards

Halophytes are drought-resistant plants that tolerate high-saline soils. From the Ancient Greek “halas” (salt) and “phyton” (plant), halophyte literally means salt plant. There are 10,000 known halophytes, and many of them are edible.

Considering that only 3% of the Earth’s water is fresh, over half of fresh water is used for agriculture, and that much of our arable land is threatened by saltwater intrusion or degraded by draught, halophytes have the potential to make a big difference in the effort to build resilient farming.

The cultivation of halophytes is getting more attention, including research into breeding plants that can cope with salt water. Halophytes also have stellar performance in rangelands. Native varieties of saltbush are not only salt and drought tolerant, they are also resistant to heat, fire, insects and diseases. Plus, they are easy to grow, productive and nutritious.

Wanting to understand just how nutritious and bioactive these plants are, researchers have turned to Australia where Indigenous communities use halophytes in traditional cuisine, for animal feed and to clean up contaminated soil and groundwater.

Halophytes also play an important role in ecosystem restoration. They are critical to the healthy function of mangroves that provide soil stability and coastal protection in tropical areas. Halophytes grow in all conditions and so are used to regenerate both degraded dryland soils and wetlands. They have huge potential for carbon farming.

Are you curious enough to introduce some halophytes into your cuisine? They are already gaining popularity in Europe.

Here are some that you can grow in your garden. Many of these are the ancestors of our common garden crops, and now we’re realizing the originals are probably more sustainable and nutritious than the less resistant and water-hungry varieties we have established in our diet.

Sea kale (Crambe maritima). Yes, it’s a Brassica! Harvest the young shoots and blanch them like rhubarb.

Sea beet or sea spinach (Beta maritima). Also called wild spinach, which is what it is. You can eat it just like spinach (it’s rich in vitamin C), but you may not want to let it flower because it can cross pollinate with your domestic chard and spinach.

Summer purslane (Portulaca oleracea). You can eat all parts—seeds, leaves and flowers. It’s particularly high in vitamin E and omega-3.

Oysterplant (Mertensia maritima). In the borage family, this one might be used as an herb, as it has a faint taste of oysters. 

Three succulents, which are very drought-resistant and highly nutritious, are worth mentioning because they are getting attention for expanded commercial cultivation: Sea blite (Suaeda maritima), Seapurslane (Sesuvium portulacastrum), and Samphire or sea pickle, sea asparagus (Salicornia).

With a quick search I learned that these plants might be difficult to get for your garden, but if so, expensive. A challenge for early adopters, and a reason to save seeds.