Salicornia perennis

Chickenclaws

Family: Chenopodiaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Chickenclaws is a California native shrub found in northern coastal bioregions in salt marshes at elevations below 20 meters. Flowering from August to October, this plant produces inconspicuous flowers in dense, compact spikes. Growing with woody, prostrate stems that spread up to one meter in diameter and produce erect flowering branches 10 to 20 centimeters tall, it forms a low, matted ground cover. Its stems are segmented with small, scale-like leaves that blend into the plant's succulent, jointed structure. The tiny seeds are distinctive, covered in hooked hairs that help with dispersal in the salty marsh environment.

Habitat: Salt marshes

Bloom period: Aug-Oct

Elevation: < 20 m

Bioregions: NCo

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