A creeping, succulent ground cover that grows on salt marshes and sand dunes. The leaves are fleshy and have a salty, slightly bitter flavour. They can be eaten raw in salads or cooked as a green vegetable. The plant forms dense mats that help stabilise sand dunes. The small, white, star-shaped flowers appear in summer. The leaves are spoon-shaped, bright green, and succulent, with a smooth, waxy surface. The stems root at the nodes, allowing the plant to spread rapidly across the ground. A single plant can form a mat several metres across, binding the sand with its network of roots. Native shoreweed is a plant of the coastal zone. It grows in salt marshes, on sand dunes, and along the margins of estuaries. It tolerates high levels of salt, occasional inundation by seawater, and strong winds. It is an important sand-binder, its dense mats holding the dunes together and preventing erosion. The flowers are small and white, with five petals arranged in a star shape. They appear in summer and are followed by small, dry fruits containing the seeds. The flowers are pollinated by insects, particularly native bees. To find native shoreweed is to walk the coastal dunes and salt marshes. Look for the dense, creeping mats of succulent leaves, the star-shaped white flowers. It is a plant of the coast, a survivor of the salt spray. A few leaves can add a salty tang to a salad, a taste of the sea. It is the shoreweed of the dunes, the green of the salt marsh.