Family: Amaranthaceae

Origin, Description & Uses
Salicornia virginica (Virginia pickleweed) is a salt-tolerant, succulent plant native to coastal regions ranging from southern Alaska through northwestern Mexico, eastern Canada through northeastern Mexico, and parts of the Caribbean. It typically grows in salt marshes, mudflats, and other coastal wetland habitats where few other plants can survive. Its fleshy, jointed green stems resemble small, leafless branches and often turn reddish with age or seasonal change. This species is edible and has been traditionally harvested as a wild vegetable in some regions, sometimes called “sea asparagus” or “pickleweed,” and can be eaten fresh, steamed, or pickled.

Risks & Threats
In Hawaiʻi, Salicornia virginica is naturalized at Lalo (French Frigate Shoals) and is considered low risk. It is generally confined to specialized coastal saline habitats and does not currently show strong evidence of aggressive spread into intact native ecosystems. Because it is adapted to harsh salt marsh environments, it may help stabilize sediments in some coastal areas, but its ecological impacts in Hawaiʻi appear limited compared to more invasive coastal plants. Continued monitoring is still important, especially in sensitive atoll ecosystems, to ensure it does not expand beyond its current range or alter native shoreline plant communities.

High Risk Traits:

• Broad climate suitability (USDA zones 6–10)
  
• Native to tropical/subtropical regions
  
• History of repeated introductions outside native range
  
• Congeneric weed (S. quinqueflora is weedy)
  
• Unpalatable to grazing animals
  
• Tolerates shade and wide range of soils (acidic to very alkaline)
  
• Forms dense thickets / mats
  
• Produces viable seed
  
• Reproduces by vegetative fragmentation (creeping stems root at nodes)
  
• Propagules dispersed by water and intentionally by people
  
• Tolerates mutilation / cultivation

Low Risk Traits:

• No naturalization beyond native range
  
• Not a weed of gardens, agriculture, or environmental areas
  
• No spines, thorns, burrs, allelopathy, or parasitism
  
• Not toxic to animals or humans (leaves edible)
  
• No evidence of seed bank persistence (>1 year)
  
• No wind, bird, animal, or gut dispersal