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Common Saltwort

Salsola kali

Found in upper beaches, fore-dunes, and island-end flats, rarely inland in disturbed areas. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 41%

Height
It is highly branched and rounded in form, growing from 1 to 3 feet in height and from 1 to 5 feet in diameter.
Light
Full sun
Soil moisture
Dry to wet

At a glance

Not yet recorded · Spread · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom

Bloom: NC species account not read yet.

Spread, life cycle and leaves: no source found yet.

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 17 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 2

Coastal dunes and beaches

Core Banks dunes, June 2013
Dune grassland. Shown: Core Banks, Cape Lookout, North Carolina, a neighboring state.Core Banks dunes, June 2013, Jarek Tuszyński, June 2013. CC BY-SA 3.0. Source record.

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

All habitats

Also found with this plant

Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 35 animals.

All wildlife of Virginia

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

7CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Salsola

  • Agrotis ipsilonIpsilon Dart, Black Cutworm, Greasy Cutworm
  • Anarta trifoliiThe Nutmeg, Clover Cutworm
  • Euxoa detersaRubbed Dart, Sandhill Cutworm
  • Hyles lineataWhite-Lined Sphinx
  • Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller
  • Spilosoma virginicaVirginian Tiger Moth, Yellow Woolybear Moth, Yellow Bear
  • Uresiphita reversalisGenista Caterpillar, Genista Cbroom Moth
Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
—BeesSoutheastern regional records
—Specialist beesPollen specialists
3BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Salsola

  • Callipepla gambeliiGambel's Quail
  • Plectrophenax nivalisSnow Bunting
  • Tympanuchus pallidicinctusLesser Prairie-Chicken
Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family
Chenopodiaceae

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Growing sources and scope

Conservation status

Virginia rankSNA
Global rankGU
VA statusNot verified
Federal statusNot verified

Conservation source Global and federal source

Native alternatives

Find natives for your garden

Sources