Sea Purslane

Scientific name: Sesuvium portulacastrum

Hawaiian name: Akulikuli

This plant’s leaves are salty and slightly bitter so they offer a nice accent  similar to a pickle. Akulikuli plants do a great job of absorbing contaminated water and  helps reduce phosphates nitrogen and potassium in contaminated water. This was recently grown in the Ala Wai canal to reduce toxic metals and pollutants (Photo by Forest and Starr Kim)