Tecticornia arbuscula, the shrubby glasswort or scrubby samphire,[2] is a species of plant in the family Amaranthaceae, native to Australia. It is a shrub that grows to 2 metres in height, with a spreading habit. It has succulent swollen branchlets with small leaf lobes.[3][4]

Shrubby glasswort
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Amaranthaceae
Genus: Tecticornia
Species:
T. arbuscula
Binomial name
Tecticornia arbuscula
Synonyms
  • Salicornia arbuscula R.Br.
  • Arthrocnemum arbuscula (R. Br.) Moq.
  • Sclerostegia arbuscula (R.Br.) Paul G.Wilson

The species occurs on shorelines in coastal or estuarine areas or in salt marshes, especially marshes subject to occasional inundation by the ocean. It has a patchy distribution across south coastal Australia, occurring in southern Western Australia, South Australia, Victoria, New South Wales and Tasmania.[3][4][5]

Seeds of the species are enclosed in a hard, vaguely pyramid-shaped pericarp which reveal 1.5 mm long, narrow seeds. these seeds appear as golden brown, transparent and unornamented.[6]

Originally published by Robert Brown under the name Salicornia arbuscula, it was transferred into Sclerostegia by Paul G. Wilson in 1980, before being merged into Tecticornia in 2007.[1]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "Tecticornia arbuscula". Australian Plant Name Index (APNI), IBIS database. Centre for Plant Biodiversity Research, Australian Government.
  2. ^ "Mainland Conservation Parks of Yorke Peninsula Management Plan 2009" (PDF). Department for Environment and Heritage. p. 14. Retrieved 6 December 2017.
  3. ^ a b S.W.L. Jacobs. "New South Wales Flora Online: Tecticornia arbuscula". Royal Botanic Gardens & Domain Trust, Sydney, Australia.
  4. ^ a b "Tecticornia arbuscula". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
  5. ^ Wilson, Paul G. (1984). "Chenopodiaceae". Flora of Australia. Vol. IV. p. 306. (as Sclerostegia arbuscula)
  6. ^ "Samphires of the Adelaide and Mt Lofty Ranges region" (PDF). Department for Environment and Heritage. p. 20. Retrieved 6 December 2017.