Kingdom Plantae Family Amaranthaceae Genus Arthrocnemum Rank Species | Order Caryophyllales Subfamily Salicornioideae Scientific name Arthrocnemum subterminale | |
Similar Arthrocnemum, Salicornia virginica, Extriplex californica, Suaeda taxifolia, Suaeda esteroa | ||
Arthrocnemum subterminale (syn. Salicornia subterminalis) is a species of flowering plant in the amaranth family known by the common name Parish's glasswort. It is native to California and the northern states of Mexico, where it grows in coastal and inland salt marshes, alkali flats, and other habitat with saline soils. It is a halophyte, capable of growing in substrates with high salt concentrations. It is a perennial herb or subshrub growing in low clumps up to a meter wide, the plants with woody bases branching into fleshy, jointed green stems. The leaves appear as fused rings around stem, the tip of each individual blade narrowing to a point. The inflorescence is a fleshy, sticklike spike of minute flowers, each flower just a pocket made up of the joined sepals; there are no petals.