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Salsola kali ruthenica

Common name:	Prickly Russian Thistle	Family:	Chenopodiaceae
Author:	(Iljin.)Soó.	Botanical references:	43, 50
Synonyms:	Salsola pestifer (A.Nelson.), Salsola kali tenuifolia (Tausch.), Salsola australis (R.Br.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	Europe, Naturalized in Northern N. America.
Habitat:	Sandy shores, cultivated fields and waste places in Eastern N. America[43]. Often found in non-saline sands and as a ruderale in Europe[50].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	1	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	S. caroliniana[P] S. iberica[B,G,,P] S. kali[G] S. kali ssp. ruthenica[B,P] S. kali ssp. tenuifolia[B] S. kali ssp. tragus[B,P] S. kali subsp. ruthenica[G] S. kali var. caroliniana[P] S. kali var. tenuifolia[G] S. ruthenica[B,G,P] S. tragus[B,CPHOTO,CAL,CAL,,H,P] S. tragus subsp. iberica[G]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Prickly Russian Thistle [P],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Caryophyllales. Goosefoot family

Physical Characteristics

Annual growing to 0.5m. . The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs). We rate it 1/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils. The plant prefers acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils and can grow in very alkaline and saline soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It requires dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Cultivated Beds.

Edible Uses

Leaves; Seed.

Young leaves and stems - raw or cooked[105, 257]. The very young shoots are chopped up and eaten in salads, older shoots are cooked as greens or as a salty flavouring for other foods[257].
Seed - cooked. Roasted and used as food[257].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Miscellany; Stings.

A poultice of the chewed plants has been applied to ant, bee and wasp stings[257].
An infusion of the plant ashes has been used both internally and as a wash in the treatment of smallpox and influenza[257].

Other Uses

None known

Cultivation details

We have very little information on this species and do not know if it will be hardy in Britain, though judging by its native range it should succeed outdoors in many parts of this country. The following notes are based on the general needs of the genus.
Requires a very sunny position in a light or medium well-drained soil, it tolerates salty soils, occasional inundation by salt water and maritime exposure. Succeeds in poor soils and grows more vigorously on alkaline soils[206].

Propagation

Seed - sow spring in situ. The seed has a short viability and should be stored cool over the winter[206].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

References for Salsola kali ssp. tragus (a possible synonym).

[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for Salsola kali subsp. ruthenica (a possible synonym).

[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.

References for Salsola pestifer (a possible synonym).

[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database

References for Salsola tragus (a possible synonym).

[H] Details of Scandanavian and European Common names in Henriette's names database
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[C] Taxon data. from the CalFlora database.
Images from the CalPhoto database.

References for the family Chenopodiaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[43] Fernald. M. L. Gray's Manual of Botany. American Book Co. 1950
A bit dated but good and concise flora of the eastern part of N. America.

[50] ? Flora Europaea Cambridge University Press 1964
An immense work in 6 volumes (including the index). The standard reference flora for europe, it is very terse though and with very little extra information. Not for the casual reader.

[105] Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing 1976
The most comprehensive guide to edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.

[206] Larkcom J. Oriental Vegetables John Murray 1991 ISBN 0-7195-4781-4
Well written and very informative.

[257] Moerman. D. Native American Ethnobotany Timber Press. Oregon. 1998 ISBN 0-88192-453-9
Very comprehensive but terse guide to the native uses of plants. Excellent bibliography, fully referenced to each plant, giving a pathway to further information. Not for the casual reader.

Readers Comments

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Bibliography

Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
WEB search engine by Rich Morris - Home Page- Contact Info
Blagdon Cross, Ashwater, Beaworthy, Devon, EX21 5DF, UK.
Website: www.pfaf.org Phone: 0845 458 4719/_44(0) 1208 872963

This page (UK) http://www.comp.leeds.ac.uk/cgi-bin/pfaf/arr_html?Salsola+kali+ruthenica
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