Scientific Name

Haloscarcia halocnemoides

Haloscarcia indica

Haloscarcia pergranulata

Family

Chenopodiaceae

Description

The height of the species varies: both Halosarcia indica and Halosarcia pergranulata grow up to i m high, while Halosarcia halocnemoides is a smaller plant that grows to around 30 cm high.

Glasswort leaves are barrel shaped - giving the appearance of being leafless - with a woody stem.
Glasswort flowers - bisexual and inconspicuous - bloom from December to March in southern Queensland, but in the northern wet tropics they bloom during June and July.

The species are distinguished from each other not only by height and form, but also by the flower morphology that is often difficult to determine in the field.

H. indica has a spiky flower head, while both H. halocnemoides and H. pergranulata have uneven flower heads.

Glasswort seeds are around i mm in diameter.

H. halocnemoides has an oval, smooth seed, while H. pergranulata has a comma-shaped seed. There are sub-species of these two species but identification of them in the field is very difficult.

Glasswort is sometimes confused with bead weed, but it can be distinguished by differences in its woody stem and trunk. Also, glasswort has more rounded and bulbous segments than bead weed.

Distribution

The plant grows in intermittent patches along the entire Queensland coast.

Flowering Period

Distribution

Features