Suaeda salsa

(L.) Pallas

Winged suaeda, Salt goosefoot, Heresu

AmaranthaceaeLeavesSeeds/Nuts

iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Chuangzao, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Chuangzao

iNaturalist · cc-by-nc
(c) Radim Paulič, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by Radim Paulič

What to Eat

Edible parts: Leaves, Seeds, Seeds - oil

The leaves can be eaten raw or cooked and have a distinctly salty flavour. The small seeds, ranging from 0.8 to 1.5mm in diameter, can be cooked whole or ground into a powder, though they are considered a famine food used only as a last resort.

Where to Find It

It is a temperate climate plant. It grows on salty and alkaline soils of beaches, lake shores. It grows in wetlands.

Asia, China, Europe, Korea, Mongolia,

Countries: Andorra, United Arab Emirates, Afghanistan, Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bulgaria, Bahrain, Brunei, Bhutan, Belarus, Switzerland, China, Cyprus, Czechia, Germany, Denmark, Estonia, Spain, Finland, France, United Kingdom, Georgia, Greece, Croatia, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, India, Iraq, Iran, Iceland, Italy, Jordan, Japan, Kyrgyzstan, Cambodia, North Korea, South Korea, Kuwait, Kazakhstan, Laos, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Sri Lanka, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Monaco, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Myanmar, Mongolia, Malta, Maldives, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Pakistan, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Serbia, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Singapore, Slovenia, Slovakia, San Marino, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Timor-Leste, Turkmenistan, Turkey, Taiwan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen

How to Identify

An annual herb. It grows 20-80 cm high. It has many branches. It turns red in autumn. The leaves are narrow and 1-3 cm long by 1-2 mm wide. They are rounded lower down and grooved higher up. The flowers occur as 3-5 in a group in the axils of leaves.

How to Grow

Propagation: Sow seed in spring directly in situ.

Medicinal Uses

None known

Other Uses

None known

Wikipedia

Suaeda salsa is a compact annual reaching 0.5 m tall. It flowers from July to October with seeds maturing August through October. This hermaphroditic plant is wind-pollinated and thrives in light sandy, medium loamy, or heavy clay soils across mildly acidic to basic pH ranges, including saline soils. It requires full sun and prefers moist conditions, tolerating maritime exposure well.

Other Information

It is commonly eaten in Hebei in China.

Notes

Also put in the family Chenopodiaceae.

Names & Synonyms

Suaeda heteroptera Kitag.Suaeda heteroptera var. tenuiramea Fuh & Wang-WeiSuaeda maritima subsp. salsa (L.) SooSuaeda ussuriensis IljinChenopodium salsum L.

References (8)

Centofanti, T. & Banuelos, G., 2019, Practical uses of Halophytic Plants as Sources of Food and Fodder. CAB International. p 334
Hu, Shiu-ying, 2005, Food Plants of China. The Chinese University Press. p 379
Khasbagan, Hu-Yin Huai, and Sheng-Ji pei, 2000, Wild Plants in the Diet of Athorchin Mongol Herdsmen in Inner Mongolia. Economic Botany 54(4): 528-536
Plants for a Future database, The Field, Penpol, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, PL22 0NG, UK. http://www.scs.leeds.ac.uk/pfaf/
Wujisguleng, W., & Khasbagen. K., 2010, An integrated assessment of wild vegetable resources in Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, China. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine 6:34
www.eFloras.org Flora of China
Zhang, Y., et al, 2014, Diversity of wetland plants used traditionally in China: a literature review. Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine. 10:72
Zhu Gelin (Chu Ge-ling); Steven E. Clemants, CHENOPODIACEAE [Draft], Flora of China