Shrubs, subshrubs, or facultative annuals, glabrous or with scattered trichomes to sparsely hirtellous, puberulent, tomentulose, or villous. Leaves sessile or short-petiolate, cross-section with dark-green ring of chlorenchyma just inside epidermis (best seen at 10× or greater magnification). Inflorescences glomes, each glome in axis of one leaflike bract or bractless; bracteoles subtending glomes often with scattered marginal hairs. Flowers bisexual or, sometimes, pistillate; perianth actinomorphic, globose to oblong; perianth segments connate proximally or to middle, abaxially rounded, sometimes distally hooded, without appendages, succulent, apex acute to obtuse; ovary lanceoloid to ovoid or often ± vase-shaped with distal necklike extension; stigmas (2–) 3, arising from pit at apex of ovary or from pit on distal necklike extension of ovary, subsessile or on short style, filiform to lanceolate, pilose-papillate. Seeds horizontal or vertical, not distinctly dimorphic, sometimes variable in size and color, lenticular; seed-coat black or brown, shiny, usually finely reticulate (seen at 40× magnification), sometimes smooth.

Distribution

North America, South America

Discussion

Species ca. 10 (5 in the flora).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

Suaeda californica, Suaeda conferta, Suaeda nigra, Suaeda tampicensis, Suaeda taxifolia

Key

1	Bracts mostly equaling proximal leaves; inflorescences distributed throughout plant; stems knobby	> 2
1	Bracts mostly shorter than proximal leaves; inflorescences mostly on distal branches; stems smooth or knobby	> 3
2	Stems glabrous or vestiture sparse; leaves usually not glaucous; ovary without obvious distal necklike extension	Suaeda californica
2	Stems sometimes glabrous or vestiture usually dense; leaves glaucous; ovary with distal necklike extension	Suaeda taxifolia
3	Leaf scars on stems ± smooth; inflorescence branches mostly thinner than vegetative branches; widespread, including Texas	Suaeda nigra
3	Leaf scars on stems ± knobby; inflorescence branches as thick as vegetative branches; Texas	> 4
4	Stems decumbent to erect, densely tomentulose; leaf apices acuminate to apiculate	Suaeda tampicensis
4	Stems prostrate to decumbent, glabrous; leaf apices rounded	Suaeda conferta

"dark-green" is not a number.