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Shrubby Russian Thistle

Caroxylon vermiculatum

Shrubby Russian Thistle
Photo: Isidre blanc, CC BY-SA 4.0

Caroxylon vermiculatum, known as Mediterranean saltwort or shrubby Russian thistle, is a small, greyish, much-branched drought-hardy shrub from dry regions of the Mediterranean, Middle East and North Africa. It thrives in full sun and very well-drained soil, and needs little water once established.

Family
Amaranthaceae (Amaranth & beet family)
Grows as
Perennial
Light
Full sun
Water
Water sparingly and let the soil dry out fully between waterings; it tolerates drought well.
Soil
Sandy or gritty, very well-drained soil; tolerates poor, alkaline soils.
Temperature
Tolerates hot, dry conditions; protect from frost, roughly below -5 °C.
How easy
Easy
Native range
Canary Is., Medit. to W. Iran, Sahara & Sahel
Climate
subtropical

About

Caroxylon vermiculatum, commonly known as Mediterranean saltwort, is a perennial plant in the family Amaranthaceae. It has many synonyms, including Salsola vermiculata and Nitrosalsola vermiculata. It is native to arid and semi-arid regions of the Middle East, North Africa and southern Europe where it is used as a fodder plant for livestock.

Where it grows

This plant is native to Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan and Saudi Arabia, as well as Egypt and Morocco. It is also native to southern Europe, including Italy, Spain and Portugal. Its natural habitat is semi-arid and arid grassland, and it has been introduced to Pakistan and to California to provide forage in arid locations. In California it has become a weed and is regarded as an invasive species.

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Caroxylon vermiculatum by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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