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Pickleweed (Salicornia pacifica) is a vital plant species in lower salt marshes, displaying bright green foliage in summer that transitions to deep red in autumn. It serves as a crucial food source for birds, mammals, and migratory ducks, offering habitat for the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse. Adaptable to saline environments, pickleweed effectively manages salt through excretion and accumulation. Its presence is essential for maintaining the health of marsh ecosystems, supporting a diverse range of wildlife. Understanding pickleweed's role can help us appreciate its ecological significance.
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Pickleweed What is the big deal?
What is it? • Pickleweed (or Pacific swampfire, Salicorniapacifica) is a low growing plant that dominates the lower salt marsh. Throughout the summer, its low, bright-green appearance gives the marsh a golf-course-like appearance. By autumn, most pickleweeds are more red than green, turning the vegetation a pleasant autumnal color.
Why is it important? • Pickleweed is important to the survival of several saltmarsh residents. It is food for both birds and mammals. It is the primary habitat for the endangered saltmarsh harvest mouse. Some species of migratory ducks eat pickleweed seeds. Some birds use it to build a nest.
Why can it grow in the marsh? • Pickleweed adapts very well to salt water and lowering and rising tides. • This plant handles salt in two ways—as a salt excluder and a salt accumulator. Some salt is filtered out at the roots plant’s cell membranes. Excess salt is pumped by other cells to the tips of the plant’s jointed segments. When the cells are full and cannot hold any more salt, the cells break down and die, and it turns red and falls off. • It does not grow near roads, bridges, and levees.
Does the marsh need pickleweed? • Pros Cons
