Cakile edentula (Bigelow) Hook.
Sea rocket, American searocket
American sea rocket, named for its rocket-like seed pods, is native to beaches and sand dunes of eastern North America. It is an invasive in Japan and Australia.
Plants: Plants are 6–20″ (15–50 cm) high, and about the same around, with succulent stems. They look rather disheveled, like tumbleweed.
Leaves: Basal leaves are ovate to spatulate. Leaves are alternate, 1–2 ⨉ ¼–½″ (2.5–5 cm ⨉ 6.3–12 mm), oblanceolate, with crenate, shallowly lobed, or undulate margins.
Flowers: Upper stems bear racemes of flowers 2–10″ (5–25 cm) long. Flowers are up to ¼″ (6.3 mm) around, lavender to white, with 4 petals, 6 stamens, and a pistil with a single style. Flowers appear from July to September.
Fruits: Each seedpod is elongated, ½–¾″ (1.3–1.9 cm) long, and comprised of two segments. The lower segment is roughly cylindrical and about ¼″ (6.3 mm) long. The upper segment is a cylinder about ½″ (1.3 cm) long, that tapers to a beak. Each segment typically contains a seed. There is a reason for the complex-seeming design: the upper segment floats, and carries its payload on a sea adventure to a distant locale. Meanwhile, the lower segment typically sprouts nearby.
Habitats: Beaches and sand dunes.
Edibility: Young stems and leaves are “pungent,” somewhat like horseradish. Young leaves are mixed with other greens in salads, and older stronger tasting leaves are cooked with other leaves as a potherb.
Online References:
Illinois Wildflowers (Cakile edentula var. lacustris)
9/21/2021 · Pott’s Point Preserve, Harpswell, Maine 
6/15/2025 · Morse Mountain Preserve, Phippsburg, Maine · ≈ 2½ × 1½′ (72 × 48 cm) 
9/18/2016 · Deer Isle Beach Vegetation Recla 
7/20/2023 · Curtis Farm Preserve, Harpswell, Maine 
9/3/2020 · Mitchell Field, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (18 × 12 cm) 
9/21/2021 · Pott’s Point Preserve, Harpswell, Maine 
9/18/2016 · Deer Isle Beach Vegetation Recla 
6/26/2024 · Seawall Beach, Morse Mountain, Phippsburg, Maine 
9/3/2020 · Mitchell Field, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4½″ (16 × 12 cm) 
9/3/2020 · Mitchell Field, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 4½ × 7″ (12 × 18 cm) 
7/27/2015 · Two Lights, Cape Elizabeth, Maine · ≈ 2½ × 1¾″ (7.1 × 4.7 cm) 
7/20/2023 · Curtis Farm Preserve, Harpswell, Maine 
7/27/2015 · Two Lights, Cape Elizabeth, Maine · ≈ 3 × 2″ (8.4 × 5.6 cm) 
7/20/2023 · Curtis Farm Preserve, Harpswell, Maine 
9/18/2016 · Deer Isle Beach Vegetation Recla 
7/5/2021 · Curtis Farm Preserve, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 6 × 4″ (15 × 10 cm) 
6/26/2024 · Seawall Beach, Morse Mountain, Phippsburg, Maine 
9/18/2016 · Deer Isle Beach Vegetation Recla 
7/27/2015 · Two Lights, Cape Elizabeth, Maine · ≈ 12 × 8″ (30 × 20 cm) 
7/5/2021 · Curtis Farm Preserve, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 16 cm) 
9/3/2020 · Mitchell Field, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 19 cm) 
9/3/2020 · Mitchell Field, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 8 × 5″ (20 × 13 cm) 
9/21/2021 · Pott’s Point Preserve, Harpswell, Maine 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Rosidae | Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more |
| Order | Brassicales | Mustard, cabbage, caper, papaya, nasturtiums, many others; most produce mustard oil |
| Family | Brassicaceae | Mustards, cabbages |
| Genus | Cakile | An old Arabic name for this plant |
| Species | edentula | Without teeth |
Cakile edentula description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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