Salsola glomerata (Maire) Brullo
S. sieberi var. glomerata Maire
Spa.: Salado. Fre.: Soude de Sieber. Ara.: Adjrem.
Evergreen shrub or subshrub, hermaphrodite, up to 2 m in height, very ramose, upright or ± prostrate. Trunk and main branches with greyish bark that flakes off into scales. Branchlets usually opposite, whitish, sometimes reddish, with very few leaves, glabrous. Leaves opposite, rarely alternate, sessile (4-25 × 0.5-3 mm), subcylindrical, short or very elongated, obtuse to slightly acute, ± apiculate, fleshy, green, reddish or glaucescent, usually slightly pruinose; glabrous, but with villous axil. Flowers always hermaphrodite, usually solitary at the axil of small floral leaves, sometimes in small groups of 2 to 3. In loose inflorescences, spiciform, arranged in panicles. Perianth with 5 membranous parts and 5 stamens. Fruit an achene enclosed by the 5 perianth parts, winged on the dorsal side. Wings whitish, greenish-yellow, pinkish or purple.
Flowering:
In autumn or after rains in the Sahara.
Fruiting:
About 2 months after Flowering.
Habitat:
Rocky and sandy soils, ± saline, in the coast and inland.
Distribution:
Endemic to North Africa. Rare but widely distributed throughout the central and western Sahara.
Conservation status:
It is a rare species but in principle it is not considered threatened. Currently, it has not been assessed at a global level in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.