Sesuvium edmondstonei Hook. f.
Galápagos carpet weed, Galápagos carpetweed, sesuvium
Galápagos carpet weed is native to the Galápagos Islands, and introduced into Colombia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.
Plants: A low-growing mat-forming perennial. Stems are fleshy and scaly.
Leaves: Opposite, oblanceolate, succulent, unlobed, with smooth edges, and ⅜–1″ long ⨉ ⅛–⅜″ wide (1–3 cm ⨉ 5–10 mm).
Flowers: Solitary white star-shaped flowers poke out of leaf axils. Each flower’s calyx has five sharp-tipped petals and multiple stamens. Pedicels are ½–¾″ (1.3–1.9 cm) long.
Fruits: Ovoid capsules containing black seeds with wrinkled cuticles.
Habitats: Spreads in mats across rocky and sandy ground.
Online References:
4/3/2025 · Cruise Line Photos, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador 
4/3/2025 · North Seymour, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador · ≈ 16 × 11″ (40 × 27 cm) 
4/3/2025 · North Seymour, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador · ≈ 7 × 10″ (18 × 24 cm) 
4/3/2025 · Las Bachas Beach, Santa Cruz, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (48 × 32 cm) 
4/3/2025 · Las Bachas Beach, Santa Cruz, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (48 × 32 cm) 
4/3/2025 · Las Bachas Beach, Santa Cruz, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (48 × 32 cm) 
4/3/2025 · North Seymour, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador · ≈ 9 × 6″ (22 × 15 cm) 
4/3/2025 · North Seymour, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador · ≈ 10 × 6″ (24 × 16 cm) 
4/3/2025 · Las Bachas Beach, Santa Cruz, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (48 × 32 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Caryophyllidae | Cacti, many other succulents, carnivorous plants, and leadworts |
| Order | Caryophyllales | Includes cacti, carnations, amaranths, ice plants, and many carnivorous plants |
| Family | Aizoaceae | Fig-marigold or ice plant family (previously Mesembryanthemaceae) |
| Genus | Sesuvium | Neither Jepson or Munz offer a meaning for this name, but thanks to Umberto Quattrocchi and Jaeger’s Source-book of Biological Names and Terms, we have the following: Sesuvium, land of the Sesuvii, a Gallic tribe from west of the Seine. I have no idea how this name came to be applied to this genus however |
| Species | edmondstonei | Uncertain, but probably for Thomas Edmondstone, a 19th-century botanist and collector in the Galápagos Islands |
Sesuvium edmondstonei description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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