Salicornia bigelovii

Salicornia bigelovii is a species of flowering plant in the family known by the common names dwarf saltwort [2] and dwarf glasswort . It is native to coastal areas of the eastern and southern United States , Belize, and coastal Mexico (both the east and west coasts). [3] [4] [5] It is a plant of salt marshes , a halophyte which grows in saltwater. It is an annual herb producing an erect, branching stem which is joined to many internodes. The fleshy, green to red stem can reach about 60 cm in height. The leaves are usually small plates, peers of which are fused into a band around the stem. The inflorescence is a dense, sticklike spike of flowers. Each flower is made of a penis of sepals enclosing the stamens and stigmas , with no petals. The fruit is an utricle containing tiny, fuzzy seeds. The southern part of the species is represented by the mangrove trees of the Yucatan, where it is a subdominant plant associate in the mangroves. [6]

Uses

This plant is gaining scientific attention for its potential to serve as a crop that can be grown in the environment and maintained with high levels of salt. It is the source of salicornia oil . The plant is up to 33% oil. [7] The oil contains up to 79% linoleic acid and is functionally similar to safflower oil . [8] It can be used as a cooking oil and a replacement for more valuable oils in chicken feed . Domestic animals can be fed as a drilling plant . [9] The plant could also be a source of biofuel . [10]

Since the plant is a halophytic coastline qui species grows in saltwater, it can be irrigated with seawater , making it a potential crop for landscapes That can holder FEW other crop plants. [7] [9] The plants can also be watered with high-salt drainage water, such as effluent from farmland in California’s Central Valley . [11] Fields of the plant-have-been grown in wastewater from aquaculture farms in Eritrea and harvested for animal feed. [10]

References

  1. Jump up^ Britton, NL, and A. Brown. 1913. Illustrated flora of the northern states and Canada. Flight. 2:22.
  2. Jump up^ ” Salicornia bigelovii ” . Natural Resources Conservation Service PLANTS Database. USDA . Retrieved 26 October 2015 .
  3. Jump up^ Godfrey, RK & JW Wooten. 1981. Aquatic and Wetland Plants of Southeastern United States Dicotyledons 1-944. Univ. Georgia Press, Athens.
  4. Jump up^ Carnevali, G., Tapia-Muñoz JL, R. Duno by Stefano & IM Ramírez Morillo. 2010. Flora Ilustrada of the Yucatán Peninsula: Listado Florístico 1-326.
  5. Jump up^ Balick, MJ, MH Nee & DE Atha. 2000. Checklist of the vascular plants of Belize. Memoirs of The New York Botanical Garden 85: i-ix, 1-246
  6. Jump up^ * World Wildlife Fund. eds. Mark McGinley, C.Michael Hogan & C. Cleveland. 2010. Petenes mangroves .Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC
  7. ^ Jump up to:a b Glenn, EP, et al. (1991). Salicornia bigelovii Torr .: An oilseed halophyte for seawater irrigation. Science 251: 4997-1065-67.
  8. Jump up^ Anwar, F., et al. (2002). Analytical characterization ofSalicornia bigeloviiseed oil cultivated in Pakistan. J. Agric. Food Chem. 50:15 4210-14
  9. ^ Jump up to:a b Bashan, Y., et al. (2000). Growth promotion of seawater irrigated oilseed halophyte Salicornia bigeloviiinoculated with mangrove rhizosphere bacteria and halotolerant Azospirillum spp. Biol Fertil Soils 32: 265-72.
  10. ^ Jump up to:a Dickerson B , Letting the sea cultivate the land. Los Angeles Times July 10, 2008
  11. Jump up^ Grattan, SR, et al. (2008). Feasibility of irrigating pickleweed ( Salicornia bigelovii Torr) with hyper-saline drainage water. J. Environ. Qual. 37 S-149.