Salsola vermiculata L.
S. microphylla Cav., S. brevifolia sensu Maire, non Desf., S. flavescens sensu Maire, non Cav., Caroxylon vermiculatum (L.) Akhani & Roalson, Nitrosalsola vermiculata (L.) Theodorova.
Eng.: Mediterranean saltwort, wormleaf salsola. Spa.: Barrilla, sosa blanca, salado, carambillo. Fre.: Soude vermiculée. Ara.: Gueddam, ucera, icerif, icerine, cherira, rhessel, ressal, kheriet, isrif, asieruahi, ghadham, lusrif, irremt, jell, (Egypt): tarteer. Tam.: Tassera, tasra, adjeruahi.
Shrub up to 1 m in height, branched from the base, very irregular in size, sometimes intricate. Trunk and main branches with greyish, fissured bark. Branchlets whitish, ± villous, with erect, crispate, denticulate hairs, with numerous leaves at the base. Fertile stems elongated, with leaves (3)5-12 mm long, alternate, highly variable, subcylindrical, subtrigonal, sometimes squamiform, triangular or elongate, enlarged at the base, ending in a tip, fleshy, ± villous with erect hairs. Leaves often clustered on short shoots (brachyblasts), becoming sometimes very imbricate. Inflorescences in narrow spikes. Floral leaves fasciculate with a small brachyblast at the axil. Bracts ± oval-triangular, similar in shape to the leaves, but always a little smaller. Bracteoles ovate, shorter than the perianth. Flowers all hermaphrodite, solitary, sometimes 2-3, at the axil of each leaf, forming narrow, ± dense spikes. Perianth with 5 parts y 5 exserted stamens. Fruit an achene surrounded by 5 perianth parts, each with a membranous dorsal wing, light pink to strong purple in colour, forming a crown of 5-8 mm.
Flowering:
Summer to autumn in the Mediterranean region, after the rains in the Sahara.
Fruiting:
2-3 months later.
Habitat:
All kinds of semiarid or arid terrains, ± saline, coastal and inland areas. Both in the Mediterranean and the Sahara. In northern Sahara it grows particularly in the rocky plateaux with with more or less salt.
Distribution:
Western Mediterranean region. From Portugal to Greece in Europe, spreading onto Transcaucasia and the eastern side of the Mediterranean. In North Africa, its range is not well defined due to its great variability. If it is considered in its broad sense, the species is widespread throughout almost all the area covered by this project. On the other hand, on the strict sense of the species, it grows only in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.
Observations:
Highly variable species, of which numerous infraspecific taxa with different ranks have been described; and, depending on the authors, several or many species have been separated from it. The most widely accepted is S. brevifolia Desf. [S. vermiculata var. brevifolia
(Desf.) Maire & Weiller, Nitrosalsola brevifolia (Desf.) Theodorova], a bush of smaller size (20-60 cm) distributed in the mediterranean drier areas of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, highly branched, with thin stems, whitish, pubescent, with short hairs upright and lanate that become spinescent in old specimens, with basal and floral leaves shorter (2-5 mm), wide at the base and leaf blade tapered towards the apex into a narrow tip. Fertile stems devoid of brachyblasts and fruit less than 5 mm, with scarious wings.Towards the W of the territory (Morocco) the following species have been described: S. flavescens Cav., S. frankenioides (Caball.) Botsch. and S. portilloi Caball. [Nitrosalsola portilloi (Caball.) Theodorova] (these last 2 species listed as synonyms of Caroxylon villosum according to Akhani & Roalson). In Argelia S. algeriensis Botsch. [N. algeriensis (Botsch.) Theodorova], S. chellalensis Botsch. [N. chellalensis (Botsch.) Theodorova], S. mairei Botsch. [N. mairei (Botsch.) Theodorova], S. praemontana Botsch. [N. praemontana (Botsch.) Theodorova], S. subglabra Botsch. [N. subglabra (Botsch.) Theodorova] and S. gypsacea Botsch. [N. gypsacea (Botsch.) Theodorova]; in Libya, S. libica Botsch. [N. libica (Botsch.) Theodorova].Another species similar to this group, but of smaller size, is S. gemmascens Pall. subsp. maroccana Botsch. A subshrub 20-50 cm, which is easily distinguished from the above species by medifixed, short and applied hairs, in rows, giving a silky appearance to the leaves and branches. It is a North African endemic known only in the steppic region of medium and low Muluya. The type subspecies is from Central Asia.
Conservation status:
These species are somewhat common but in principle none are considered threatened. Currently, they have not been assessed at a global level on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
