Suaeda taxifolia

Woolly seablite

Family: Chenopodiaceae · Type: shrub · Native

Conservation status: CNPS 4.2

Woolly seablite is a native shrub found in southern California Coastal, Channel Islands, and southern Central Coast bioregions on coastal bluffs and salt marsh margins at elevations below 15 meters. Flowering throughout the year, this plant produces tiny flowers in small clusters that range from 1 to 3 millimeters long. Growing as a spreading to erect subshrub up to 15 decimeters tall, it develops several branches from its base with pale green to red herbaceous stems. Its leaves are distinctive, ascending to wide-spreading and less than 30 millimeters long, with blue-green, yellow-green, or red blade coloration that appears almost cylindrical. The plant has a glaucous appearance with dull gray-brown stems that develop knobby old leaf scars, creating an interesting textural profile in coastal environments.

Habitat: Coastal bluffs, margins of salt marshes

Bloom period: All year

Elevation: < 15 m

Bioregions: s CCo, SCo, ChI

California counties: Orange, Ventura, San Diego, Los Angeles, Merced, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Madera

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