Suaeda nigra

Bush seepweed

Family: Chenopodiaceae · Type: annual · Native

Bush seepweed is a California native annual found in the Great Valley, Central Coast, San Francisco Bay Area, southwestern California, Great Basin, and desert regions in alkaline and saline habitats at elevations below 1,600 meters. Flowering from May to September, this plant produces tiny green to yellow-green flowers in small clusters along its stems. Growing with spreading to erect stems 20 to 150 centimeters tall, it develops multiple branches from a woody base with shiny green to yellow-brown or reddish herbaceous stems. Its leaves are ascending to wide-spreading, narrow and somewhat cylindrical, ranging from 5 to 30 millimeters long and varying in color from yellow-green to red. The small black seeds are horizontal or vertical, lenticular and shiny, contributing to the plant's distinctive appearance in harsh, salty environments.

Habitat: Alkaline, saline habitats in interior and desert, occasionally coastal

Bloom period: May-Sep

Elevation: < 1600 m

Bioregions: GV, CCo, SnFrB, SW, GB, D

California counties: Inyo, Ventura, San Luis Obispo, Imperial, Riverside, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Kern, Mono, Modoc, Merced, Kings, Yolo, Fresno, Monterey, Tulare, Contra Costa, Colusa, Lassen, Orange, Santa Barbara, San Diego, Lake, Butte, Glenn, Solano, Alameda, Madera

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