Scientific Name: Sesuvium portulacastrum
Inigenous: All HI
Description: The akulikuli plant is a very low crawling ground cover. It has very succulent green leaves with bright red stems and purplish pink flowers.
Distribution: Akulikuli is an indigenous coastal ground cover found on all Hawaiian Islands as well as other islands in the Pacific. They grow on both rocky and sandy beaches or around estuaries and marshes
Landscape Use: Akulikuli is a very drought, wind and salt tolerant plant. It makes a great ground cover for any garden and does best with lots of sun. In its natural setting, akulikuli forms dense a mat and its leaves look like they are ready to pop because they are so succulent. This look can be achieved in the landscape by reducing the watering schedule once plant is established. Otherwise if the plant is watered too regularly it will grow quickly, but its leaves will not be as succulent.
Cultural Uses: The flowers as well as the leaves and branches can be strung into lei. The leaves can also be eaten but have a rather salty taste to them, more so they were used as roughage in pig feed.
Akulikuli