Shrubby Seablite

Appearance

It has a chromosome number of 2n=36.

Distribution

The range of this species is primarily along the coasts of the Mediterranean region. In Europe the range extends northwards along the Atlantic coasts of Spain, Portugal, France to south-eastern England. It does not extend around the Black Sea.

Because of the taxonomic confusion, the distribution in Africa is somewhat more complicated. It occurs in the Canary Islands, the Maghreb countries of northern Africa, and likely into the Sahel countries of Sudan and Mauritania, but it is unclear if the populations further in southern Africa, formerly classified as "Suaeda fruticosa", belong to "S. vera" or "S. vermiculata". For example, the 1988 "Atlas Florae Europaeae", which is based on an older edition of the "Flora Europaea", includes Cape Verde for "S. fruticosa", which this population isn't, but it is not clear to which taxon it actually belongs.: 72 

In Asia it appears that this species is limited to around the Mediterranean region in the Levant and along the coasts of southern Anatolia. It does not extend eastwards into Iraq or Pakistan, here the real "S. fruticosa" occurs. A similar situation seems to exist on the Arabian Peninsula.

Habitat

Seeds germinate more readily in fresh than in salt water.: 309  In Britain it is a coastal species found particularly where shingle and salt marsh meet.

Uses

It is one of a number of plants high in sodium known as 'barilla' which were used to make soda ash for use in the soap and glass industries. Large quantities were exported from North Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries. In a trial in Tunisia it has been found possible to grow both "Suaeda" and the cordgrass "Spartina alterniflora" using seawater to irrigate them and increase yields, but only when additional nitrogen and phosphorus are added. The high salt content of the plants will be likely to limit their use as stand alone forage crops, it being more likely they will be used as components of a feed mix.