Salicornia virginica L

Salicornia virginica L

Salicornia virginica L., Sp. Pl. 4, 1753 [as S. virginia].—Herbst, Pac. Sci., in press, 1975.

We are accepting Fernald and Schubert’s interpretation of this species (1948:162–163) as the plant that occurs in saline marshes along the Atlantic coast of North America (and South America) generally called S. ambigua Michaux or S. perennis Miller.

SPECIMENS SEEN.—Hawaiian Islands: Leeward Group: French Frigate Shoals, Tern Island. “One small colony on crushed coral between “gas dump” and the ocean, center of north side of island,” Herbst 1213 (US, UH).

This collection seems to correspond best with S. virginica, though the spikes of that species seldom reach the length shown by this specimen, about 5 cm. Fernald (1950:599) says they can be 1.5–6 cm long. The width of the joints, as wide as or usually wider than their length, excludes other species with which it might be compared, including S. subterminalis Parish (Arthrocnemum sub-terminate (Parish) Standley), which it resembles in having the spikes occasionally continuing as vegetative branches. The essential distinction of the latter lies in its glabrous seeds. This could not be checked as this specimen, though flowering abundantly and bearing old, opened-up parts of spikes, seems to have no seeds at all. Possibly it is self-sterile, and only one plant was seen. It was doubtless introduced in some manner during the U. S. Coast Guard activity on the island. The genus is not known from Polynesia or other parts of the oceanic central and western Pacific, nor have we encountered records of it from any Pacific coral atoll. It is a leafless succulent with jointed stems, opposite branching, prostrate to ascending, each joint about 1 cm long or less, sheathing at the top with two opposite low scale-like projections on the sheath; flowers borne in threes on shortened joints compressed into a spike, the perianth reduced and closely appressed to the side of the joint, stamens 1 or 2, exserted slightly, seeds pubescent (lacking on our material).

Dianthus L.