General:
Annual herb from a fibrous root; stems decumbent to erect, solitary, simple to freely branched, 5-50 cm tall/long, glabrous, fleshy, often reddish with age.

Leaves:
Stem leaves reduced to opposite, scalelike, fused bracts; lower scales slightly spreading, obtuse to rounded.

Flowers:
Inflorescence of fleshy spikes, the flowers sunken in depressions of the joints just above the axils and opposite the fused bracts, the joints of the spike 2.5-4 (rarely 2) mm long and half as thick as the spikes; flowers in groups of 3, central flowers in each cluster much exceeding the lateral ones; spikes 2-5 cm long.

Fruits:
Thin, papery-walled, membranous bladders enclosed by spongy flower scales, egg- to diamond-shaped; seeds 1 per bladder.

Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

If more than one illustration is available for a species (e.g., separate illustrations were provided for two subspecies) then links to the separate images will be provided below. Note that individual subspecies or varietal illustrations are not always available.

Illustration Source:  The Illustrated Flora of British Columbia

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Salicornia europaea sensu Wolff & Jefferies, non L.
Salicornia europaea auct. non L.
Salicornia europaea subsp. europaea
Salicornia europaea var. pachystachya (W.D.J. Koch) Fernald
Salicornia europaea var. prostrata auct. non (Pallas) Fern. [misapplied]
Salicornia europaea var. simplex (Pursh) Fernald
Salicornia herbacea auct. non (L.) L.
Salicornia maritima Wolff & Jefferies
Salicornia maritima Wolff & Jefferies
Salicornia prostrata auct. non Pall.
Salicornia ramosissima auct. non J. Woods
Salicornia virginica L.