| General Information |
| Distribution | Occurring in marshy places, alkaline flats, and sea coasts from southern United States to South America, the West Indies, Pacific islands, and Australia.In the Hawaiian Islands,
indigenous to
Laysan, French Frigate Shoals, Nihoa, Ni`ihau, Kaua`i, O`ahu, Moloka`i, Lana`i, Maui, Kaho`olawe, Hawai`i.
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Habit
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Glabrous and usually glaucous perennial herbs, from deep rhizomes; stems prostrate or decumbent, succulent, 1-4.5 dm long.
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Leaves
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Leaves thick and juicy, oblanceolate, 2-4(-5) cm long, 0.3-0.6(-0.9) cm wide, apex obtuse, gradually tapering to base.
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Flowers
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Flowers in terminal and lateral, single or paired, bractless, scorpioid cymes 2-5(-10) cm long, peduncles 0.5-2(-5) cm long; calyx divided almost to base, the lobes subequal, fleshy, lanceolate or oblong, 1-2 mm long; corolla white with a greenish or yellowish center, funnelform, 1.2-4 mm long.
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Fruit
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Nutlets 4, 1-seeded, ovoid, 1.5-2 mm long, smooth or faintly rugulose on the back, covered with a thick exocarp that functions as a float organ for water dispersal.
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Chromosomes
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2n = 24, 26*, 28, 52
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