Sea Kale is a
native
perennial plant of the UK, typically found growing in shingle beaches and coastal areas, to a mature height of up to 100cm.
Sea Kale is a salt-tolerant, greyish-green wavy-leaved plant bearing honey-scented clusters of white flowers. It was cultivated and eaten as a leafy vegetable by the Victorians. In more recent times, it has become popular as an ornamental garden plant.
Botanic classification and naming: Sea Kale is a member of the Cabbage (Brassicaceae) family. The genus name
'Crambe' identifies the plant as a Cabbage and its species name 'maritima' means 'coastal plant'.
Concerns: Note that unsupervised foraging may cause damage to wild plants and misidentification of forage species may be dangerous. The complete removal of a plant from the wild is illegal under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981).
Benefits: The sweet-scented flowers produce lots of nectar to attract pollinators.
Benefits to wildlife are also indicated with orange icons in the plant profile bar at the top.
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