Salsola soda

Alkali russian thistle

Family: Chenopodiaceae · Type: annual · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Alkali russian thistle is a naturalized annual plant found in the Sacramento Valley at the Delevan Wildlife Refuge and northern California Coast Ranges near San Francisco Bay in saline or muddy flats, uppermost intertidal zones, and open salt marsh areas at elevations below 40 meters. Flowering from July to October, this plant produces small translucent-margined flowers with fleshy sepals in delicate clusters. Growing 15 to 45 centimeters tall with a branched structure from near the base, it develops a distinctively fleshy and glabrous form. Its leaves are opposite at the base and alternate above, featuring widened bases with rigid, short, pointed tips and translucent margins. The plant produces small fruits three to six millimeters in diameter with minimal to no appendages.

Habitat: Uppermost intertidal zone, saline or muddy flats, open areas in salt marshes

Bloom period: Jul-Oct

Elevation: < 40 m

Bioregions: ScV (Delevan Wildlife Refuge), n CCo (San Francisco Bay)

California counties: Contra Costa, Alameda, San Mateo, Colusa, Solano, Marin, Santa Clara, Sonoma, Plumas

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