Salicornia rubra A. Nelson
red glasswort (red swampfire)
Amaranthaceae (Amaranth family)
(Previously in Chenopodiaceae)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
red glasswort (red swampfire)
Amaranthaceae (Amaranth family)
(Previously in Chenopodiaceae)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Photograph
© Larry Halverson (Photo ID #8151)
Species Information
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.
Illustration
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
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Green
Blooming Period:
Mid Summer
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Yellow
Present from Summer to Fall
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Salicornia rubra
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
617 | 440 | 880 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
2 | 0 | 7 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
62 | 135 | 350 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
6 | 5 | 7 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
F | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
8 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
PP | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
BG(2), IDF(1), PP(5) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Wet salt marshes, shorelines and saline and alkaline flats in the lowland, steppe and montane zones; infrequent in S BC; N to AK, YT and NT, E to NF and S to GA, KS, NV and CA.Status Information
Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Salicornia europaea subsp. rubra (A. Nelson) Breitung
Salicornia europaea var. prona (Lunell) Boivin
Taxonomic Keys
Refer to the treatment in Flora North America for a key to glassworts, and further descriptive information.
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