Salicornia europaea L.

• Authority

  Gleason, Henry A. & Cronquist, Arthur J. 1991. Manual of vascular plants of northeastern United States and adjacent Canada. lxxv + 910 pp.

• Family

  Amaranthaceae

• Scientific Name

  Salicornia europaea L.

• Description

  Species Description - Annual, 1–5 dm, erect or the lower branches prostrate; scales below the spike obtuse or rounded; spikes erect or ascending, 2–6 × 1.5–3(–4.5) mm, the joints mostly 2–4 mm; fls broadly obovate, the central one much surpassing the lateral ones but reaching only to 0.5–1 mm below the node above; seeds 1.3–2 mm; 2n=18, 36. The commonest sp. of salt marshes; Que. to Fla., and in saline soil inland to Mich.; also Alas. to Calif., W.I., and widespread in the Old World. (S. herbacea; S. prostrata)

• Common Names

  samphire