Native Plants

Plant Database

Search for native plants by scientific name, common name or family. If you are not sure what you are looking for, try the Combination Search or our Recommended Species lists.

Enter a Plant Name:
Or you can choose a plant family:

Salicornia maritima

Salicornia maritima Wolff & Jefferies

Slender Grasswort, Slender Glasswort

Chenopodiaceae (Goosefoot Family)

Synonym(s): Salicornia europaea, Salicornia europaea var. prostrata, Salicornia herbacea, Salicornia prostrata, Salicornia ramosissima

USDA Symbol: SAMA11

USDA Native Status: L48 (N), CAN (N)

A fleshy, seemingly leafless, opposite-branched plant with green flower spikes, turning reddish, and thick, cylindrical stem joints longer than wide.

This succulent turns reddish in the fall on northern tidal marshes. Dwarf Glasswort (S. bigelovii) is usually unbranched, with joints wider than long; American Glasswort (S. virginica) has creeping stems that form extensive mats.

From the Image Gallery

No images of this plant

Plant Characteristics

Duration: Annual
Habit: Herb
Leaf Complexity: Simple
Size Notes: Stems procumbent to erect, infrequently prostrate, up to about 1 foot long.
Fruit: Utricle.

Bloom Information

Bloom Color: Green
Bloom Time: Aug , Sep , Oct , Nov
Bloom Notes: Flowers are inconspicuous.

Distribution

USA: AK , CA , CT , DE , GA , IL , LA , MA , MD , ME , MI , MS , MT , NH , NJ , NV , NY , OH , RI , WA
Canada: NB , NL , NS , PE
Native Distribution: Ontario east to Nova Scotia, south along coast to Georgia, and west to Louisiana; local in Michigan, Illinois, and Ohio; also along Pacific Coast from Alaska to California.
Native Habitat: Coastal and inland salt marshes, especially bare peat, and salt licks.

National Wetland Indicator Status

Region:	AGCP	AK	AW	CB	EMP	GP	HI	MW	NCNE	WMVE
Status:									OBL

This information is derived from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers National Wetland Plant List, Version 3.1 (Lichvar, R.W. 2013. The National Wetland Plant List: 2013 wetland ratings. Phytoneuron 2013-49: 1-241). Click here for map of regions.

Web Reference

Webref 38 - Flora of North America (2019) Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
Webref 23 - Southwest Environmental Information Network (2009) SEINet - Arizona Chapter

Additional resources

USDA: Find Salicornia maritima in USDA Plants
FNA: Find Salicornia maritima in the Flora of North America (if available)
Google: Search Google for Salicornia maritima

Metadata

Record Modified: 2023-03-20
Research By: TWC Staff

Go back