Suaeda maritima

Annual seablite is an excellent plant for salty areas, such as salt marshes. Its family member salicornia is the first land plant to grow in the lowest part of the tidal zone; annual seablite is the next plant just a bit higher up. These two plants have a lot in common. They both catch mud and help build up the marsh. And their leaves absorb a lot of salt and eventually turn red when oversaturated. Should you extract the salt in the leaves of either plant and let it dry, it turns black. This explains annual seablite's latin name Suaeda, which comes from Arabic and means black salt.

Nile region, oases (Bahariya), Mediterranean region and eastern desert.

Canary Islands, Europe, Mediterranean,  Caucasus, Asia, Australia, northeast Coast of north America and Argentina.

Suaeda inflata Aellen:
South Africa (Africa & Madagascar)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Suaeda richii Fernald:
Canada (North America)
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Suaeda maritima (L.) Dumort.:
Canada (North America)
Java (Asia)
New Guinea (Asia)
United States (North America)

Note: This information is based on publications available through Tropicos and may not represent the entire distribution. Tropicos does not categorize distributions as native or non-native.

Man., N.B., Nfld. and Labr. (Nfld.), N.S., P.E.I., Que.; Conn., Maine, Mass., N.H., N.J., N.Y., Pa., R.I., Va.; Europe; Asia (Arabia); Africa; Pacific Islands (Japan, New Zealand).

Belgium, Het Zwin, IJzer Estuary

Canada

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Global Range: New England and easternmost Canada: Massachusetts to Newfoundland.

Canada

Origin: Unknown/Undetermined

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Unknown/Undetermined

Confidence: Confident

United States

Origin: Unknown/Undetermined

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Unknown/Undetermined

Confidence: Confident

Herbs, annual, prostrate to ascending, occasionally erect, sometimes forming mats, glaucous or green, 0.5-10 dm. Stems prostrate, decumbent, or erect, usually light brown, simple or branched, sometimes slightly woody at base; main branches arising from proximal part of plant. Leaves ascending or spreading; blade linear, usually subterete, sometimes flat, 10-50 × 0.8-1.7 mm, apex blunt to acute. Glomes on main stem and lateral branches, not crowded into compound, distal spikes, 1-4-flowered; proximal bracts resembling leaves, distal bracts gradually reduced, 3-12 mm, slightly wider at the base. Flowers bisexual; perianth actinomorphic to slightly irregular with segments subequal, 2-3.3 mm diam.; perianth segments thin to abaxially rounded and occasionally distally hooded at maturity, without appendages, apex obtuse; stigmas 2-3(-5). Seeds monomorphic, lenticular, 1-2.2 mm diam.; seed coat reddish brown or black, reticulate. 2n = 36.

Chenopodium maritimum Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 221. 1753; Suaeda fernaldii (Standley) Standley; S. maritima subsp. richii (Fernald) Bassett & Crompton; S. richii Fernald

Salt marshes, coastal sand and mud-flats

Coastal salt marshes, ballast; 0-10m.

Foodplant / feeds on
erumpent pycnidium of Phoma coelomycetous anamorph of Phoma suaedae feeds on branch of Suaeda maritima
Remarks: season: 8

In Great Britain and/or Ireland:
Fungus / saprobe
scattered, immersed pycnidium of Stagonospora coelomycetous anamorph of Stagonospora suaedae is saprobic on dead, dry leaf of Suaeda maritima
Remarks: season: 7

Foodplant / parasite
pycnium of Uromyces chenopodii parasitises live Suaeda maritima

Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.

Estimated Number of Occurrences: 21 - 80

Comments: Primarily in Mass. ('S3?' rank); quite rare elsewhere.

Flowering late summer-fall.

Annual.

The following is a representative barcode sequence, the centroid of all available sequences for this species.

Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLDS) Stats
Public Records: 10
Specimens with Barcodes: 16
Species With Barcodes: 1

Rounded Global Status Rank: G5 - Secure

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: N3 - Vulnerable

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N3 - Vulnerable

Rounded Global Status Rank: T3 - Vulnerable

Reasons: Somewhat frequent in Massachusetts, but quite rare in the remainder of its range (northeastward to Newfoundland); a Pennsylvania record represents a single, non-native 1874 collection from ballast.

Canada

Rounded National Status Rank: NNR - Unranked

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: NNR - Unranked

Global Short Term Trend: Decline of 10-30%

Comments: Apparently extirpated from Newfoundland, according to Kartesz (unpubl., 1998 draft dataset).