Salsola oppositifolia Desfontania

July 13, 2023

A team of researchers from Gandhinagar-based Gujarat Ecological Education and Research (GEER) Foundation has discovered a new species of saltwort called Salsola Oppositifolia Desfontania.
It is a perennial shrub that grows in saline, arid to semi-arid environments of the Kutch
It belongs to the family of Amaranthaceae.
It is a perennial, succulent shrub that can grow one to two metres tall and have a smooth, cylindrical, woody base.
It is rarely prostrate and unlike other species of Salsola, does not have any hairs.
As the name oppositifolia suggests, the leaves of this plant grow opposite each other in the stem.
It is a halophyte — a plant adapted to growing in saline conditions.
Salsola oppositifolia Desfontania is the 6^th species of Salsola genus to be discovered in India.
- Previously, Salsola kali, Salsola hatmanii, Salsola monoptera, Caroxylon imbricatum (Salsola baryosma) and Halogeton glomeratus (Salsola glomerata) were recorded in India.
Salsola oppositifolia is used as a raw material for manufacturing soda ash. He said that other Salsola species are used in manufacturing lye and soaps.