Salsola kali L.
Detail
- Family
- Amaranthaceae
- Botanical Name
- Salsola kali L.
- Common Name
- Saltwort
- Synonym(s)
- Flora of Virginia Name/Status
- Salsola kali L.
- Comments
- Although most sources say Salsola kali is introduced to our area, Weakley (2012) says it may well be native. The vast majority of Virginia material appears to match ssp. kali. However, FNA (citing 1996 Annals of the Missouri Bot. Garden 83:389., which lists Va. on p. 390) maps ssp. pontica (Pallas) Mosyakin (= Salsola caroliniana Walt.) in Virginia as well. No unequivocal specimens of the latter have been seen or referenced in literature, but "intermediate or deviant" plants transitional between the ssp. apparently occur. Because of this range-wide tendency to produce intermediates, and disagreements in literature about which taxon or taxa are actually present in Virginia, we are treating S. kali at the species level. Further study is needed.
- Habitat
- Upper beaches, overwash flats, low dunes, and disturbed tidal shores. Locally frequent in the outer Coastal Plain maritime zone (including the western shore of the Chesapeake Bay); rare along tidal reaches of the Potomac River.
- Native Status
- Not Specified
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