Biological Flora of the British Isles:Crambe maritima

Abstract

Summary1. This account presents information on all aspects of the biology of Crambe maritima L. (Sea-kale; Crambe pontica Stev. ex Rupr) that are relevant to understand its ecological characteristics and behaviour. The main topics are presented within the standard framework of the Biological Flora of the British Isles: distribution, habitat, communities, responses to biotic factors, responses to environment, structure and physiology, phenology, floral and seed characters, herbivores and disease, history and conservation. 2. Crambe maritima is found predominantly on southern and western coasts of Britain but also in Scotland, Ireland and elsewhere. It occurs primarily on neutral or slightly alkaline soils on shingle and sand beaches above the drift line, out of reach of average high tides. Equinoctial tides or storms can increase soil salinity, requiring it to be salt tolerant. 3. Crambe maritima is a rosette plant with a fleshy taproot, which is the main perennating organ with a capacity for vegetative propagation. Flowering can take 5-8 years when grown from seeds. Reproduction is predominantly by seeds. Root and stem cuttings can be used for vegetative propagation. In winter, each branch ends at ground level in a leafless crimson bud, and in spring, it produces a succession of cabbage-like leaves just above ground level, the first being purple and successive leaves becoming greener. 4. Crambe maritima produces weakly protogynous hermaphrodite flowers. Self-and cross-pollination occurs. Pollination is by insects, flies and bees. The plants usually produce 1000-10 000 seeds per year. 5. In Britain, Crambe maritima has been reported to have declined in certain areas but increased in other areas and currently does not have rare or scarce status. There has been an expansion in range in Ireland since the 1960s as it has been recorded at new sites, and while the species has disappeared from some sites in France, it has also been identified in several new sites.

Studies on the Physiological Characteristics of the Halophytic Species Crambe Maritima L. and the Possibility of Its Introduction Into Culture in the Southern Area of Romania’s Oltenia Region

“…Pollination is done by insects, flies and bees. Plants typically produce 1000-10,000 seeds per year (Sanyal, A., Decocq G., 2015). The study method consisted in determining some biophysical and physiological indices in plants grown on media with different concentrations of sodium chloride.…”

“…Studies of genetic variability have been conducted with the aim of diversifying vegetable crops and bringing C. maritima closer to commercial production, and also for conservation purposes in France, UK and Ireland. A breeding programme initiated in 1992 resulted from a systematic search for wild populations in France, along the Channel and Atlantic coasts, especially from Quiberon (south Brittany) to Dunkerque (north France near Belgium) that aimed to capture its genetic variability ( Sanyal,A., Decocq G., 2015). Sea-kale is rich in vitamin C, mineral salts, sulphur and iodine.…”

“…The seeds are very rich in oil (41.7%) of potential economic value (Dolya et al 1973) and are also used for cosmetic purposes. It is used as an ornamental plant and as a model for epigenetic studies ( Sanyal,A., Decocq G., 2015).…”

Journal of Ecology News: Data Archiving Compliance

“…Four BFBI accounts were published in 2015, on Ambrosia artemisiifolia, Crambe maritima , Neottia ovata and Ophrys shpegodes (Essl et al . ; Jacquemyn & Hutchings ; Kotilínek, Těšitelová & Jersáková ; Sanyal & Decocq , respectively). We are celebrating 75 years of the BFBI series in 2016 with a historical retrospective by BFBI Editor Tony Davy in a forthcoming issue of the BES Bulletin.…”

Morphometric Parameters of Plants of Crambe Spp. During Vegetation

“…The study of shoot's system of different species showed that these plants are chamaephytes (Sanyal and Decocq, 2015) or hemicryptophytes (Scherbakova and Kalistaya, 2013;Sanyal and Decocq, 2015). C. abissinica and C. maritima can grow on saline soils and be tolerant to salty water irrigation (Vos et al, 2010;Qi et al, 2017).…”