''Frankenia salina'', often called alkali heath or alkali seaheath, is a perennial herb native to California, Nevada, Mexico and Chile.
It is uncommon even in the region where it is most likely to be found, just north of the
San Francisco Bay Area
The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
.
It is a squat flowering bush that forms a twiggy thicket near beaches and
coastal salt marshes. Its common name refers to its preference for
alkaline soils
Alkali, or alkaline, soils are clay soils with high pH (greater than 8.5), a poor soil structure and a low infiltration capacity. Often they have a hard calcareous layer at 0.5 to 1 metre depth. Alkali soils owe their unfavorable physico ...
as a
halophyte
A halophyte is a salt-tolerant plant that grows in soil or waters of high salinity, coming into contact with saline water through its roots or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs, and seashores. ...
. It has the ability to excrete salt as an adaptation for living in saline habitats. The flowers are pink or fuchsia in color.
References
External links
Calflora.org info pageJepson Manual TreatmentCalifornia Native Plants: Propagation Info
salina
Halophytes
Flora of California
Salt marsh plants
Flora without expected TNC conservation status
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