FNPS Plant Database

Cakile lanceolata

coastal searocket
  • Photo by: John Bradford, Martin County Chapter FNPS
  • Photo by: John Bradford, Martin County Chapter FNPS

Nomenclature

Common Name:

coastal searocket

Synonym(s):

Genus species:

Cakile lanceolata

Family:

Brassicaceae

Plant Specifics

Form:

flower

Size:

2 ft tall by 2 ft wide

Life Span:

Long-lived perennial

Flower Color:

white,lavender

Fruit Color:

yellow

Phenology:

Evergreen. Blooms spring through summer.

Noted For:

Hurricane Wind Resistance

Landscaping

Recommended Uses:

Searocket is best used to hold loose sand in place such as the beach dune system.

Considerations:

Availability:

Specialty Provider

Propagation:

The searocket produces pods shaped like a rocket with two seeds, one in the top, which drops off and is carried away by wind or water, and the bottom with remains with the plant.

Light:

Full Sun, Part Sun

Moisture Tolerance:

Always Flooded---------------------------------Extremely Dry

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Short very dry periods -to- Somewhat long very dry periods

Salt Water Flooding Tolerance:

Unknown

Salt Spray/Salty Soil Tolerance:

High. Can tolerate significant and ongoing amounts of salt.

Soil or Other Substrate:

Sand, Loam

Soil pH:

Suitable to Grow In:

8B,9A,9B,10A,10B

USDA zones are based on the average annual extreme minimum winter temperature.

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Ecology

Wildlife:

Pollinators, Butterflies, Caterpillars

Attracts butterflies and bees.





Larval host for the great southern white( Ascia monuste phileta ).

Native Habitats:

Coastal dunes. Identified along the Indian River lagoon and the Atlantic shoreline to the Gulf and across to the panhandle of Florida.

Natural Range in Florida:

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Comments:

Ethnobotany:

General Comments:

Pronuciation : Ca-ki-le lan-see-oh-lay-tuh The searocket blooms July through September. Annual to short-lived perennial.

Citations:

Haehle, Robert G. and Joan Brookwell. (1999). Native Florida Plants. Gulf Publishing Company. Houston, TX.


Minno, Marc and Maria Minno. (1999). Florida Butterfly Gardening: A Complete Guide to Attracting, Identifying, and Enjoying Butterflies. University Press of Florida, Gainesville.


Wunderlin, R. P., B. F. Hansen, A. R. Franck, and F. B. Essig. (1999+). Atlas of Florida Plants. ( https://florida.plantatlas.usf.edu/ ). [S. M. Landry and K. N. Campbell (application development), USF Water Institute.] Institute for Systematic Botany, University of South Florida, Tampa.

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