Batis maritima, the saltwort or beachwort (also known as turtleweed, pickleweed, barilla, planta de sal, camphire, herbe-à-crâbes, and akulikuli-kai[2]), is a halophyte.

[3] Batis maritima is a pioneer plant, covers quickly areas where hurricanes have destroyed the natural vegetation.

The small, white flowers of Batis maritima are self-incompatible and the morphology of the pollen indicate that the plant is wind pollinated.

[5] Batis maritima occurs on both Atlantic and Pacific tropical coasts of the three Americas and the Caribbean Islands.

[3] It typically occurs at elevations less than 1.0 m above mean sea level and at sites where salinity ranges from 18 to 50 ppt (muddy tidal banks, mangrove swamps, salt-marshes, mud and salt flats).

The seeds are rich in elements like phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg) and iron (Fe).

[4] Examination of the seed for sodium (Na) did not reveal any elevated accumulation of this element (i.e., 500 ppm) which would be of nutritional concern.

[9] Saltwort grows slowly in soils with high salt concentrations but it suffers little competition from other plants.

[3] Obligate-symbiotic vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizae (VAM) that colonize the roots indirectly reduce water stress and improve phosphate nutrition.