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Soda inermis
Soda inermis (oppositeleaf Russian thistle, barilla plant) is a small annual succulent subshrub up to about 0.7 m tall, native to the Mediterranean and Eurasia, and grown for its edible leaves. It is a salt-tolerant halophyte, so it thrives in sandy or saline soils and can be irrigated with salt water.
Soda inermis, the opposite-leaved saltwort, oppositeleaf Russian thistle, or barilla plant, is a small (to 0.7 m tall), annual, succulent shrub that is native to the Mediterranean Basin. It is a halophyte (a salt-tolerant plant) that typically grows in coastal regions and can be irrigated with salt water. The plant was previously classified as Salsola soda, now regarded as a synonym.
The plant has great historical importance as a source of soda ash, which was extracted from the ashes of Salsola soda and other saltwort plants. Soda ash is one of the alkali substances that are crucial in glassmaking and soapmaking. The famed clarity of 16th-century cristallo glass from Murano and Venice depended upon the purity of "Levantine soda ash", and the nature of this ingredient was kept secret.
The Italian name agretti is commonly used in English to refer to the edible leaves of S. soda; barba di frate (or friar's beard) is the most common of the Italian names. This plant is not a summer green and should be started early indoors or in autumn. The seed is notorious for poor germination at about 30 to 40% standard, much like rosemary. Though the plant is often grown in saltwater-irrigated land in the Mediterranean Basin, it will grow without salt water. S. soda is harvested in bunches when small, or cropped regularly to encourage new growth when mature. It is most commonly boiled and eaten as a leafy vegetable; the recommendation is to cook it in boiling water until the leaves soften, and to serve while some bite (crunch) remains (much like samphire). It can also be eaten raw; it is said to taste "grassy and slightly salty with a pleasant, crunchy texture".
Salsola soda is sometimes confused with a plant known in Japan as okahijiki (land seaweed), which is actually the species S. komarovii. The harvested leaves of the two species have a similar appearance.
Salsola soda is native in Eurasia and North Africa. Historically, it was well known in Italy, Sicily, and Spain. In modern Europe, it is also found on the Atlantic coasts of France and Portugal and on the Black Sea coast.
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Soda inermis 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.
