Goosefoot Family [Amaranthaceae] |
status
flower
petals
stem
rarity
sex
10th Oct 2015, coastal sands, Marshside, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
It usually becomes dark purple, but do not bank on it. Growing to 40cm high it can be simple (as here) to branched a lot. The fertile segments lower down are 1.9 to 3.5mm long and between 2 to 4mm wide at their narrowest point. |
10th Oct 2015, coastal sands, Marshside, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
The terminal spike measures between 10 to 30mm (sometimes as short as 5mm or as long as 40mm) |
10th Oct 2015, coastal sands, Marshside, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
'Shades of Deep Purple' (not that your Author ever liked the music(?) of that pop group). |
10th Oct 2015, coastal sands, Marshside, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
They all emerge from a very loosely-fitting well, which appear to be at right-angles up the stem. |
10th Oct 2015, coastal sands, Marshside, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
This is typically what you should be using for identification purposes, and those photos further down this page, rarher than the colour. |
10th Oct 2015, coastal sands, Marshside, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
10th Oct 2015, coastal sands, Marshside, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
10th Oct 2015, coastal sands, Marshside, Sefton Coast. | Photo: © RWD |
Each differing Glasswort should be identified by the shape and size of the florets on the flowering spike. Other characteristics such as overall shape and stance of the plant are not as reliable.
Glassworts are very difficult to identify, some think that there are 20 to 30 differing species in the British Isles, others think perhaps only 7 are reliably distinguishable from each other, whilst some taxonomists think there might only be 3 species. This is all to do with the phenotypic plasticity exhibited by Glassworts, with the same species exhibiting differing characteristics in the north and the south of the UK. For instance, Long-Spiked Glasswort, Yellow Glasswort and Not to be confused with: Venus's Looking Glass (Legousia hybrida) a plant with similar name belonging to a differing family. More recent research suggests that this species is the same in spirit as that of Common Glasswort (Salicornia europaea). It is native and occurs in the upper and middle sections of saltmarshes in the British Isles partly excepting Scotland, Ireland, Isle of Man and the Channel Islands where it is rarer.
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Salicornia | ramosissima | ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ | Amaranthaceae |
Salicornia (Glassworts) |
Goosefoot Family [Amaranthaceae] |