Sarcocornia pacifica (Standl.) A.J. Scott
American glasswort (perennial saltwort)
Amaranthaceae (Amaranth family)
(Previously in Chenopodiaceae)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
American glasswort (perennial saltwort)
Amaranthaceae (Amaranth family)
(Previously in Chenopodiaceae)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Perennial herb from a branching rhizome; matted; stems prostrate, freely branched, up to 1 m long.
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 fused bracts, the joints of the spike mostly 0.5-2.5 mm long and about as thick as the spikes; flowers in groups of 3, central flowers in each cluster barely exceeding the lateral ones; spikes 1-4 cm long.
Fruits:
Thin, papery-walled, membranous bladders enclosed by spongy flower scales; seeds 1 per bladder, hairy.
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
Habitat and Range
Wet salt marshes and beaches in the lowland zone; common along the coast in BC; N to SE AK and S to CA and MX, also along the Atlantic and Gulf of MX coasts.Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Salicornia pacifica
Salicornia virginica L.
Taxonomic Keys
Refer to the treatment in Flora North America for a key to glassworts, and further descriptive information.
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