Common name:
Prickly saltwort
Family:
Scientific name:
Salsola kali
Synonym:
Kali turgidum
Main flower color:
Range:
Coastal regions all across the British Isles
Height:
Up to 50 cm
Habitat:
Upper margins of sandy beaches
Flowers:
Tiny, in the leaf nodes; five tepals, usually hidden, and five stamens, with pale yellow filaments and relatively conspicuous yellow anthers
Fruit:
Conical capsules, subtended by three thin wings
Leaves:
Thick, linear, up to 4 cm long, terminating in a sharp, light-coloured spine, on thick, much-branched stems often striped red or darker green
Season:
July to October
Rarity:
★★★★★