PURPLE GLASSWORT

Salicornia ramosissima

Goosefoot Family [Amaranthaceae]

month8aug month8sep month8sept

status
statusZnative
flower
flower8yellow
petals
petalsZ0
stem
stem8round
rarity
rarityZuncommon
sex
sexZbisexual

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 Shiny Glasswort might all be placed under the Salicornia procumbens aggregate!

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.


  Salicornia ramosissima  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Amaranthaceae  

Distribution
 family8Goosefoot family8Amaranthaceae
 BSBI maps
genus8Salicornia
Salicornia
(Glassworts)

PURPLE GLASSWORT

Salicornia ramosissima

Goosefoot Family [Amaranthaceae]