Cakile maritima has the typical four petaled flowers of the crucifera family but has undergone many adaptations which allow it to tolerate the high stress levels of life on a beach. These include drought, high temperatures and saltiness, and  prolonged sunlight. The leaves vary in shape depending on local conditions, creating two distinct forms. In more favourable environment the leaves  are entire but become more finely divided and with incurling of the edges when nutrient levels are low and stress levels high. All the plants observed in Skopleos had divided leaves.1 The fruits are interesting, careful inspection reveals two distinct sections,  upper and lower. Each section usually contains a single seed, occasionally two. The seeds in upper section detach form the plant and are dispersed by wind or water. The seeds in the lower section remains attached to the parent plant and germinates close to it in a tried and tested environment.2