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Halophytes


'Halophytes' (salt plants) are on one hand salt loving plants, on the other hand salt tolerant plants. The former ones need soil with high salt concentration, the latter ones don't need the salt, but benefit from that due to the salt concentration few competitor plants are able to grow there. Native sites of halophytes are mainly the sea shores. Below some plants of the coasts of the North and Baltic Sea are shown. Some plants, e.g. Atriplex species, are even able to exsolute excessive salt, which then is visible as salty dots on the leaves.
Atriplex littoralis / Grassleaf Orache Chenopodiaceae / Goosefoot Fam.	Atriplex prostrata / Spear-Leaved Orache Chenopodiaceae / Goosefoot Fam.	Atriplex glabriuscula / Babington's Orache Chenopodiaceae / Goosefoot Fam.
Atriplex longipes / Long-Stalked Orache Chenopodiaceae / Goosefoot Fam.		Cakile maritima / Sea Rocket Brassicaceae / Crucifers
Carex arenaria / Sand Sedge Cyperaceae / Sedge Fam.	Calamagrostis arenaria / European Marram Grass, European Beach Grass Poaceae / Grass Fam.	Leymus arenarius / Sea Lyme Grass Poaceae / Grass Fam.
Mainly at the coasts of the Mediterranean salt tolerant species have developed which differ from less salt tolerant inland species mainly by thick leaves where they can store sweet water.
Limbarda crithmoides / Golden Samphire Asteraceae / Composite Fam.	Polygonum maritimum / Sea Knotgrass Polygonaceae / Knotweed Fam.	Lotus halophilus / Greater Bird's-Foot Trefoil Fabaceae / Legumes
In the interior of the country salty sources are found relatively rarely. Such sites contain often very rare salt plants as the example of Ubstadt is showing:
Apium graveolens / Celery Apiaceae / Umbellifers	Apium graveolens / Celery Apiaceae / Umbellifers	Apium graveolens / Celery Apiaceae / Umbellifers
Also in East Germany there are are abundant salt patches with rare plants, e.g. at the small river Sülze near Sülldorf south of Magdeburg:



Salicornia europaea / Common Glasswort Chenopodiaceae / Goosefoot Fam.	Tripolium pannonicum subsp. pannonicum / Sea Aster Asteraceae / Composite Fam.	Atriplex prostrata / Spear-Leaved Orache Chenopodiaceae / Goosefoot Fam.
Halimione pedunculata / Pedunculate Sea Purslane Chenopodiaceae / Goosefoot Fam.	Suaeda maritima / Annual Sea Blite Chenopodiaceae / Goosefoot Fam.	Triglochin maritimum / Arrowgrass Juncaginaceae / Arrowgrass Fam.
Very rich of halophytes are some secondary biotopes, e.g. mine dumps of potash mines, which are needed for fertilizer production. An example for it, which in Germany can mainly be found in Northeast Hesse, is the mine dump of pit Hera near Heimboldshausen, which has been abandoned many years ago. In the almost pure potash salt which is collected at the bottom of the dump by the rainwater no plants can grow. The halophytes are growing where the rainwater has sluiced salt on and into the soil around the dump. Unfortunately the mine dump of Heimboldshausen has been fenced in summer 2013, which is unintelligibly for the interested amateur botanist, because before that it obviously hadn't been required for tens of years. But below the mine dump also outside of the fence small numbers of relative many species of salt plants can be found, because there the salt concentration is also high caused by rainwater coming down from the dump.


		Atriplex prostrata / Spear-Leaved Orache
Hornungia procumbens / Slenderweed, Oval Purse Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Hornungia procumbens / Slenderweed, Oval Purse Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Cochlearia danica / Danish Scurvy-Grass Brassicaceae / Crucifers
Gypsophila perfoliata / Perfoliate Gypsophila Caryophyllaceae / Campion Fam.	Gypsophila perfoliata / Perfoliate Gypsophila Caryophyllaceae / Campion Fam.	Gypsophila scorzonerifolia / Garden Baby's Breath Caryophyllaceae / Campion Fam.
Spergularia media / Greater Sea Spurrey Caryophyllaceae / Campion Fam.	Spergularia marina / Lesser Sea Spurrey Caryophyllaceae / Campion Fam.	Tripolium pannonicum subsp. pannonicum / Sea Aster Asteraceae / Composite Fam.
Atriplex prostrata / Spear-Leaved Orache Chenopodiaceae / Goosefoot Fam.	Suaeda maritima / Annual Sea Blite Chenopodiaceae / Goosefoot Fam.	Salicornia europaea / Common Glasswort Chenopodiaceae / Goosefoot Fam.
Chenopodium rubrum / Red Goosefoot Chenopodiaceae / Goosefoot Fam.	Puccinellia distans / Reflexed Saltmarsh Grass Poaceae / Grass Fam.	Puccinellia distans / Reflexed Saltmarsh Grass Poaceae / Grass Fam.
Below some examples of salt-tolerating plants can be found, which obviously don't need the salty soil, because they are also occurring at many other sites. Directly below the mine dump of the former pit Hera the Wild Carrot is striking in summer. Also the Common Centaury and the White Melilot are occurring there in big numbers on rather salted soil.
Daucus carota subsp. carota / Wild Carrot, Queen Anne's Lace Apiaceae / Umbellifers	Centaurium erythraea / Common Centaury Gentianaceae / Gentian Fam.	Melilotus albus / White Melilot Fabaceae / Legumes
Below some photos of the mine dump of Neuhof south of Fulda which is still in operation can be seen. Salt plants are hardly accessible there, due to fences around it.




Also in the Southwest German and Alsatian Rhine valley potash mining is or has been available, an example is the old mine dump of Buggingen, where e.g. the following salt tolerating plants can be found:
Salicornia europaea / Common Glasswort Chenopodiaceae / Goosefoot Fam.	Spergularia media / Greater Sea Spurrey Caryophyllaceae / Campion Fam.	Calamagrostis epigejos / Wood Small Reed Poaceae / Grass Fam.
Also in the surrounding of the artificial salines at spas as e.g. Bad Nauheim, Bad Kreuznach or Bad Dürkheim salt plants are colonizing.
Atriplex prostrata / Spear-Leaved Orache Chenopodiaceae / Goosefoot Fam.	Atriplex prostrata / Spear-Leaved Orache Chenopodiaceae / Goosefoot Fam.	Plantago maritima / Sea Plantain Plantaginaceae / Plantain Fam.
Spergularia marina / Lesser Sea Spurrey Caryophyllaceae / Campion Fam.	Spergularia marina / Lesser Sea Spurrey Caryophyllaceae / Campion Fam.	Puccinellia distans / Reflexed Saltmarsh Grass Poaceae / Grass Fam.
Along roadsides of motorways and roads, often in mountain ranges, which are salted in winter, salt loving or salt tolerating plants have spread hundreds of kilometers from the North Sea to Southern Germany. Also Lesser Sea Spurrey Spergularia marina and Reflexed Saltmarsh Grass Puccinellia distans, which are shown in the row above, can not rarely be found at those roadsides.
Cochlearia danica / Danish Scurvy-Grass Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Cochlearia danica / Danish Scurvy-Grass Brassicaceae / Crucifers	Cochlearia danica / Danish Scurvy-Grass Brassicaceae / Crucifers
Naturally this list of salt loving and salt tolerating plants isn't complete. It will be continued on occasion.