Perennial glasswort
Sarcocornia perennis
Amaranthaceae


Landscape Uses:

Primarily recommended for natural landscapes and habitat restorations. Also saline butterfly gardens along the coast.

Ecological Restoration Notes:

Availability:
Grown by enthusiasts and occasionally by native plant nurseries.
Description:
Small creeping herb.
Height:
About 6-12 inches or sometimes more in height. Spreading and forming large mats.
Growth Rate:
Moderate.
Range:
Coastal regions of the New World, Europe and northern Africa.
Habitats:
Brackish coastal areas.
Soils:
Wet, ocassionally inundated brackish or saline soils.
Nutritional Requirements:
Moderate; can grow in nutrient poor soils, but needs some organic content to thrive.
Salt Water Tolerance:
High; tolerates flooding by salt water.
Salt Wind Tolerance:
Moderate; grows near salt water, but is protected from direct salt spray by other vegetation.
Drought Tolerance:
Low; requires moist to wet soils and is intolerant of long periods of drought.
Light Requirements:
Full sun.
Flower Color:
Green.
Flower Characteristics:
Inconspicuous.
Flowering Season:
All year; peak summer-fall.
Fruit:
Inconspicuous utricle.
Wildlife and Ecology:
Larval host plant for eastern pygmy-blue (Brephidium isophthalma) butterflies.
Horticultural Notes:
Can be grown from seed and division.
Comments:


George D. Gann