Adaptations: Pickleweed

            The pickleweed is a common succulent found in salt marshes.  One of the major adaptations of pickleweed is its ability to withstand such a highly concentrated environment of salt.  Growing in the low to middle tide zones of salt marshes, it is both a salt excluder and a salt accumulator.  Sodium-potassium pumps within the cell membranes of the plant work to emit salt either through the roots or through the tips of the leaves.  In the latter method, salt is transferred to vacuoles in cells at the tips of the leaves.  Once the vacuoles are at capacity, the cells will decompose and die causing the outer segments to turn red and fall off of the plant.  Pickleweed is, thus, highly suited to its saline environment.

            The plant has also developed special structures to aid reproduction.  Pickleweed requires pollination from a male to a female plant in order to reproduce.  From August to November, flowering occurs and the wind pollinates the flowers.  The resulting seeds are dispersed by the tides and precipitation.  They have developed tiny little hairs on the seeds to allow the seeds to latch onto objects in addition to trapping air bubbles.  The seeds can then float or attach themselves to floating debris if deposited in water and eventually end up on shore where they can germinate.  The seeds have a much higher survival rate and likelihood to mature with this adaptation.

            Moreover, the leaves of pickleweed have developed to become the stem of the plant.  The plant itself is extremely low growing as it can be submerged in water for part of the year.  Pickleweed growing in marshes would have lost many of its leaves to wind, water, and herbivory.  As a result, the plants’ leaves developed into the short segments that now make up its stem.  The energy conversion of the plant is much easier and more efficient as its entire surface area has the ability to perform photosynthesis.  Since pickleweed requires vast quantities of sun to perform photosynthesis, the plant has adapted to best suit its saline environment.

            The pickleweed provides a great habitat and nesting materials for sparrows.  Since it's a low-lying plant and many individual organisms grow in close proximity, it forms a bush-like covering.  It is a great refuge and hiding spot for the tiny birds.  The plant itself also provides food for the bird.  The fallen red leaves are also used for nesting material in the spring.