Suaeda vermiculata Forssk. ex J.F.Gmel.
S. mollis (Desf.) Delile
Eng.: Sea-blite. Spa.: Sosa, almajo. Fre.: Soude molle. Ara.: Suit, suida, sueda, suwaid, sowweid, cerira, djill, idjell, iskrif, lisrirh, chefchaf, ucera, chervia, tarteer (Egypt). Tamahaq: Awssak.
Evergreen subshrub, hermaphrodite, up to 70 cm in height, very ramose from the base, with irregular branching, often intricate. Stems covered with a whitish striated bark. Branches green or purple, glabrescent. Leaves 2-20(30) × 1-4 mm, alternate, cylindrical or subglobose, slightly or not flattened on the upper side, obtuse, very fleshy, clearly petiolate but with a very short petiole, deep green, sometimes purple like the new growths, often coated with a waxy powder. Flowers very small (2-4 mm in diameter), greenish, grouped into glomeruli of 1-5 in the axils of the upper leaves. Bracteoles scarious, denticulate. Perianth with 5 parts and 5 stamens, fused at the base. Ovary conical, with 3 subulate stigmas. Fruit an achene surrounded by the 5 perianth parts, winged on the dorsal side. Seed black and smooth.
Flowering:
Spring and autumn.
Fruiting:
April to December.
Habitat:
More or less saline and humid soils in arid and semiarid regions.
Distribution:
Deserts and subdeserts from the western Sahara to India. In North Africa it appears scattered here and there throughout the Sahara.
Conservation status:
It is a common and even locally abundant species. It is not considered threatened. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.