SEAWITCH | haiwu

Vic Xu , Seawitch In Residence , 2025

Lighting through , Forging Family Root

; Strung to Fauna Wake

A Moire to Sun Archive

4/ Asthma Plant

Seawitch Observations: Saw this mostly growing between sidewalk cracks and on the edges of property lines - seems to be growing as a weed more than an intentionally planted garden plant. There was a lot growing in the sidewalk area under Building 12 when I was there in Summer 2025

When the stem is cut/broken, white milky sap comes out - this can be used to accurately identify it
Gets its name from its medicinal power: treating asthma and other respiratory conditions. Contains compounds that have bronchodilatory effects, helping to relax the airways and improve breathing
Tea/decoction: The leaves of Euphorbia hirta are often brewed into a tea or decoction to help soothe coughs, clear mucus, and relieve symptoms of asthma, bronchitis, and other respiratory issues
Inhalation: The steam from boiling the leaves can be inhaled to provide relief from respiratory congestion and to ease breathing. (Ref.) The plant carries anti-inflammatory and pain relieving properties (poultice/oral)

1/ Beach Morning Glory

Seawitch Observations: Grows along the first staircase down to the beach from the pier (slightly more weathered than the larger, second staircase). Grows entangled with Sea Bean (its lookalike) - you can tell them apart by their leaves and flowers. The leaves are conjoined like a heart, and the flower is trumpet shaped, resembling pink morning glories.

People by the sea also used it to treat jellyfish stings and bug bites
Aboriginal peoples in Australia use it in a poultice to treat Stingray and Stone Fish stings
Good for soil erosion, it grows well in loose, sandy soil
One of the best examples of sea dispersal - this plant’s seeds have spread on the ocean waves. Its seeds float and are unaffected by salt water

2/ Sensitive Plant

Seawitch Observations: There are a lot of look-alikes growing on Sea Ranch (eg. Tamarind Tree, listed here as well), but it can be distinguished by two key features: it fans out from 1 point in groups of 5, rather than look-alikes where the leafy arms fan out in alternating patterns. The second feature is what this plant is known for - when its leaves are touched, they close (as shown in the cyanotype photo) and reopen a few minutes later.

Native to tropical americas, cultivated in China as an ornamental plant, and grows pantropically as a weed as well
Great example of rapid plant movement - movements in plants that occur very fast, usually under 1 second
Research has also been done that proves the plants’ ability of habitual learning, which explains why the plant does not close with a drop of water but does with a finger touch. In the study, the plant was dropped repeatedly and eventually stopped closing once it realized this action was not dangerous in the way it had originally been perceived
Contains toxic alkaloid mimosine

3/ Butterfly Pea

Seawitch Observations: Seen growing in between the first and second staircases down to the beach. Easily mistaken as purple morning glories - grows quite proliferous-ly!

Indigenous to the Indonesian island of Ternate and other parts of equatorial Asia
Planted as an ornamental plant and as a revegetation plant (eg. in abandoned mining sites)
Fixes nitrogen, meaning that it converts N2 in the atmosphere into a plant usable form, adding nutrition back into the soil
Gets its blue color from being rich in anthocyanins - specifically ternatins
Used in teas and foods in SE Asia and increasingly elsewhere. Increasing acidity changes the color to purple/pink, while without it stays a deep blue color that makes it a popular culinary ingredient.
Long used in traditional ayurvedic medicine and occasionally in Traditional Chinese Medicine, it has a variety of medicinal properties including: antimicrobial, antipyretic, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, diuretic, local anesthetic, antidiabetic, insecticidal, blood platelet aggregation-inhibiting

images and words courtesy of Seawitch Inbeing Vic Xu 2025