Salicornia bigelovii

Bigelow's pickleweed

Family: Chenopodiaceae · Type: annual · Native

Bigelow's pickleweed is a California native annual found in coastal salt marshes of the central and southern California coast, including Morro Bay and surrounding counties, at elevations below 20 meters. Flowering from July to November, this succulent plant produces inconspicuous flowers in dense, articulated stems with sharp-tipped segments. Growing 9 to 60 centimeters tall with slender, erect stems that branch above the middle, it forms dense, fleshy clusters characteristic of salt marsh environments. Its leaves are reduced to small, acute segments along the stem, creating a distinctive jointed appearance typical of halophytic plants. The tiny seeds are approximately 1 to 1.5 millimeters long, with curved hairs that help with dispersal in the challenging salt marsh habitat.

Habitat: Salt marshes

Bloom period: Jul-Nov

Elevation: < 20 m

Bioregions: CCo (Morro Bay), SCo

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.