Arthrocnemum subterminalis (Parish) Standl                      =Salicornia subterminalis Parish   Chenopodiaceae (Goosefoot Family)   Native   Glasswort     Pickleweed    Parish's Pickleweed

                                   May Photo

Plant Characteristics:  Perennial with succulent, leafless, jointed stems; stems widely spreading or erect and compact, opposite, 1.5-3 dm. high, the joints 2-20 mm. long; branchlets many, crowded, 2-3 mm. in diam., the joints 5-15 mm. long; spikes 2-3.5 cm.  long, 2-2.5 mm. thick at base, with few to several lf. bearing scales below and as many slender sterile ones above; fls. subequal; calyx fleshy, with a truncate or 3-4 toothed margin; seeds glabrous, brown, ca. 1 mm. long.

Habitat:  Coastal Salt Marsh, Alkali Sink, etc.; San Francisco Bay and San Joaquin V. to Mex.; some Channel Ids. and inland to Perris, Riverside Co. Below 800 m.  April-Sept.

Name:  Greek, sal, salt and cornu, a horn, being saline plants with hornlike branches.  (Munz, Flora So. Calif. 367).  The common name, Glasswort comes from the high soda content of the plant which was of value to the glass and soap manufacturers.  (Clarke 165).  Latin, sub, prefix meaning under, below and terminis, end.  (Jaeger 251,260).  Refers to the characteristic of the plant in which it produces terminal fls. that become subterminal as the plant continues to grow new jointed stems.  The origin of genus name Arthrocnemum is unknown.  (my comment).

General:  Very common in the study area.  Photographed on North Star Beach and the Castaway's Bluffs.  (my comments).     Pickleweed seeds, which are available in summer, were a favorite with the Cahuillas, the inhabitants of the Colorado Desert, the San Jacinto and San Bernardino Mountains, however, the Cahuillas of the mountain areas do not appear to recall the plant.  Barrows (1900:57) said it grew abundantly in the Indian Wells area of the Coachella Valley.  (Bean and Saubel 135).       The Indians of Utah and Nevada gathered the seeds and ground them into flour.  Pickles were made by the colonists by first boiling the stems in salted water, then soaking them in vinegar.  The bright green tender tips of the plant are used in seaside salads.  It can be used as a potherb, but is not as tasty in that use.  "Of the four species that occur throughout the state, this particular species tastes best to me".  (Clarke 164, 165).       The flowering spikes are terminal but often become subterminal because of continued growth and branching above the fertile part.  (Mason 451).      One of the native halophytes found in Upper Newport Bay.  (Zedler 16).  (See Spartina foliosa for a complete list of these halophytes).         S. subterminalis is common at the highest intertidal marsh habitats and  does not occur in marshes above Morro Bay.  It appears to be both salt tolerant and drought tolerant; it occurs adjacent to salt pans and in areas above extreme highwater or behind dikes which prevent tidal inundation.  (Zedler 30).      More than 70 percent of the species will be found between 6.6 and 6.8 ft. above MLLW. (Zedler 17)      Mason does not list S. subterminalis  in his book and makes the following comment.  "We have followed Standley in regarding Arthrocnemum as distinct from Salicornia because of the indeterminate growth of the flowering shoot, the presence of abundant endosperm in the seed, the L-shaped embryo, and wholly glabrous seeds.  It is much more abundant in the interior than Salicornia, and frequently covers large areas in the alkaline plains of the San Joaquin Valley".  These comments apply only to S. subterminalis, and not to S. bigelovii,  S. virginica, or other Salicornia species. (Mason 452).       Salt marsh plants have a higher concentration of salt in their roots than there is in sea water.  By osmosis they can take in fresh water.  Pickleweed concentrates salt in its terminal joints and in late fall the tips fall off.  This is the plant's method of excreting salt.  (Native Plant class by Dave Bontrager, Spring 1985).      See S. bigelovii and S. virginica for additional information on the genus Salicornia. It is interesting that the genus name Arthrocnemum, the new name for S. subterminalis, is not mentioned in the 1993 Jepson Manual.  (my comment).

Text Ref:  Abrams, Vol. II 91; Hickman, Ed. 514; Mason 451; Munz, Calif Flora 382; Munz, Flora So. Calif. 368; Roberts 18.

Photo Ref:  April 1 83 # 2,3; June 4 83 # 15; May 2 87 # 8A.

Identity by R. De Ruff, confirmed by G. Marsh.

First Found: April 1983.

Computer Ref:  Plant Data 226.

Have plant specimen.

Last edit 6/6/04.

                                April Photo                                                                          December Photo