E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Flora of British Columbia

Cakile edentula (Bigelow) Hook.
American searocket
Brassicaceae (Mustard family)

Introduction to Vascular Plants

Distribution of Cakile edentula
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SUBTAXA PRESENT IN BC

Cakile edentula ssp. edentula

Species Information

Click on the image below to view an expanded illustration for this species.

Illustration Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

General:
Annual herb from a taproot; stems freely branched, 10-50 cm tall, glabrous, base of lower stems often decumbent.

Leaves:
Basal leaves widely egg- or spoon-shaped, fleshy, deeply toothed to wavy-margined and saw-toothed, with a broad stalk, 2-7 cm long; stem leaves similar.

Flowers:
Inflorescence a raceme, 4-15 cm long; flower stalks 3-7 mm long, stout, ascending; petals white to purplish-tinged, 6-8 mm long; sepals sparsely soft-hairy at tip, early deciduous, 3-4 mm long.

Fruits:
Siliques, 1.5-2.5 cm long, slightly to considerably constricted at the joints, the upper segment triangular to egg-shaped, constricted to somewhat flattened beak, tip acute to notched.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Key to the Species and Taxonomic Notes

1. Silicles slightly to much constricted at the joints, leaves mostly spoon-shaped or egg-shaped, wavy-margined and toothed, sometimes pinnately lobed or nearly entire......................................C. edentula

1. Silicles usually expanded at the joints into projecting wings; at least the lower leaves usually distinctly pinnately cleft..........................C. maritima

Source: Illustrated Flora of British Columbia.

Habitat / Range

Moist to wet sandy shorelines in the lowland zone; common in coastal BC; N to AK and S to CA, also along the Great Lakes and the Atlantic Coast.

Source: The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Ecology

Ecological Framework for Cakile edentula

The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)

Site Information	Value / Class
Site Information	Minimum	Average	Maximum
Elevation (metres)	0	4	15
Slope Gradient (%)	0	1	5
Aspect (degrees) [0 - N; 90 - E; 180 - S; 270 - W]	10	72	135
Soil Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric]	1	1	2
Modal Nutrient Regime Class	A
Number of field plots species was recorded in:	10
Modal BEC Zone Class	CWH
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in:	CWH(10)
Source: Klinkenberg 2020

Climate

The climate type for this species, as reported in the: "British Columbia plant species codes and selected attributes. Version 6 Database" (Meidinger et al. 2008), is not evaluated, unknown or variable.

Status Information

Origin Status	Provincial Status	BC List (Red Blue List)	COSEWIC
Exotic	SNA	Exotic	Not Listed

BC Ministry of Environment: BC Species and Ecosystems Explorer, the authoritative source for conservation information in British Columbia.

Taxonomic and Nomenclatural Links

Flora North America treatment for Brassicaceae
Genetic information (NCBI Taxonomy Database)
International Plant Names Index
Taxonomic Information from the World Flora Online
Integrated Taxonomic Information System

Additional Range and Status Information Links

Burke Museum of Natural History (Washington State records)
CalFlora
Consortium of Pacific Northwest Herbaria records
Jepson Interchange
NatureServe Explorer
USDA

Additional Photo Sources

Images From CalPhoto
UT Austin's Native Plant Database
Google Image Search
Flickr Image Search

General References

Google Scholar Search
Family References
General Botanical References for BC

Recommended citation: Author, Date. Page title. In Klinkenberg, Brian. (Editor) 2020. E-Flora BC: Electronic Atlas of the Plants of British Columbia [eflora.bc.ca]. Lab for Advanced Spatial Analysis, Department of Geography, University of British Columbia, Vancouver. [Accessed: 2024-05-06 9:09:21 PM ]

Disclaimer: The information contained in the E-Flora atlas pages is derived from expert sources as cited in each section. This information is scientifically based. E-Flora also acts as a portal to other sites via deep links. As always, users should refer to the original sources for complete information. E-Flora BC is not responsible for the accuracy or completeness of the original information.