Atriplex are C-plants, with a characteristic leaf anatomy (kranz anatomy). The genus "Atriplex" is distributed nearly worldwide from subtropical to temperate and to subarctic regions. Most species-rich are Australia, North America, South America and Eurasia. Many species are halophytes and are adapted to dry environments with salty soils. The genus evolved in Middle Miocene, the C-photosynthesis pathway developed about 14.1-10.9 million years ago, when the climate became increasingly dry. The genus diversified rapidly and spread over the continents. The C"Atriplex" colonized North America probably from Eurasia during the Middle/Late Miocene, about 9.8-8.8 million years ago, and later spread to South America.
Glasswort Glasswort The glassworts are various succulent, annual halophytes plants, that is, plants that thrive in saline environments, such as seacoasts and salt marshes. The original English glasswort plants belong to the genus "Salicornia", but today the glassworts include halophyte plants from several genera, some of which are native to continents unknown to the medieval English, and growing in ecosystems, such as mangrove swamps, never envisioned when the term glasswort was coined. The common name "glasswort" came into use in the 16th century to describe plants growing in England whose ashes could be used for making soda-based (as opposed to potash-based)