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Kihnu Rootsiküla beach: sea rocket

 

 

To those who roam on off-the-path beaches sea rocket is a familiar plant, it accompanies the walker with its pretty lilac flowers until the storms of October. In mid-summer the stand is proudly flowering. When a storm goes across the beach the roots of the plant are bared – a tangle of pale yellow growths. There are not many plants that have “learnt” how to live in the shore sands.

 

Sea rocket

 

The leaves of the sea rocket are shiny and fleshy, the small lilac flowers have four petals, sometimes the flowers can also be white. The fruit of the sea rocket is a cork-coloured brown pod or silicula that floats well in water – so the plant has ensured the spread of its seeds. It is an annual.