Ringstead Sea Kale

Young curly leaf of Sea Kale just opening — Close-up of a young red and purple leaf of Sea Kale

Sea Kale, Crambe maritima Linnaeus, grows on the shingle beaches in Dorset, England. When the leaves first sprout, they are a delectable colour of purple but as the plant matures the leaves become grey-green. However, the leaf veins and the curly edges of the leaves remain pink/purple but not as intense a colour as in the young shoots.

Sea Kale leaf becoming greener as it develops but with purple veins and edges — Close-up of a semi-mature Sea Kale leaf with leaf veins and curly edges still coloured purple or deep pink

Close-up of well developed Sea Kale leaf showing pink/purple leaf edges — Close-up of well developed Sea Kale leaf with grey-green blade and just the edges pink

Young purple shoots at the base of Sea Kale (Crambe maritima) growing on the beach — Young purple shoots sprouting at the base of Sea Kale (Crambe maritima) growing on the Ringstead Beach

4 Replies to “Ringstead Sea Kale”

natureuncovered says:

June 27, 2014 at 10:03 am

Fabulous photos!

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aidymcglynn says:

June 27, 2014 at 4:34 pm

Beautiful plant Jessica. I must look into whether it grows in Ireland. I’ve certainly never noticed it before, and it looks like it would be hard to miss – very striking.

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winderjssc says:

June 28, 2014 at 6:00 am

Thank you, Adrian. I think this plant does grow in Ireland but its distribution is locally abundant and confined to the top of the shore mostly on shingle beaches.

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winderjssc says:

June 28, 2014 at 6:00 am

Thank you, Celia.

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