Saltwort
the Salsola, a genus of plants of the natural order Chenopodiaceæ, having hermaphrodite flowers, with five-parted perianth and a transverse appendage at the base of each of its segments, five stamens and two styles, the seed with a simple integument. The species are numerous, mostly natives of salt marshes and sea-shores, widely diffused.
One only, the prickly saltwort (S. kali), is found in Great Britain. The plant is annual, with prostrate much-branched stems, awl-shaped spine-pointed leaves, and axillary solitary greenish flowers. It was formerly collected in considerable quantities on the W. shores of Great Britain, to be burned for the sake of the soda SALUTES which it thus yields. S. sativa is the chief barilla plant of the S. of the country of Spain.