General:
Annual herb from a fibrous root; stems decumbent to erect, solitary, simple to freely branched, 10-25 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 mostly 2 (rarely 2.5) mm long and as thick, or almost 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-shaped 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

Flower Colour:
Green

Blooming Period:
Mid Summer

Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Yellow
Present from Summer to Fall

Source:  The USDA

Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Salicornia europaea subsp. rubra (A. Nelson) Breitung
Salicornia europaea var. prona (Lunell) Boivin