Broom saltwort
Caroxylon genistoides
Family · Amaranthaceae · Harmless
The grey, twiggy shrub of the saline and gypsum soils of southeastern Spain, one of the harshest environments in continental Europe. Where it rules, the soil holds too much salt or gypsum for almost everything else.
Fields and pasture · Roadsides and waste ground · Dunes and sand · Walls and rocks
Also known assaltwort
How to tell it
Thin, whitish, much-divided branches with tiny fleshy leaves that fall early, leaving the shrub almost bare. Insignificant flowers and fruits with a membranous wing all round, in autumn. Range: mainly a Spanish plant, practically absent from Portugal.
What it is confused with
Mediterranean saltbush
Atriplex halimus
They share salty ground. Saltbush has broad diamond leaves coated in white powder; saltwort has tiny leaves and almost bare branches.
What it is for
Plants of this group were burned for centuries to obtain barrilla, the soda used in glass and soap making, and Spain lived off that trade into the 19th century.
Where it occurs
Each square is an area with recorded observations of this plant. The lighter background is the set of areas where any of the entries has been observed, and serves as a reference. Note what this is not: it is not where the plant lives, it is where people record it, so trails and towns always look fuller than the mountains. Data from GBIF.
Sources
Community
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