Saltwort (Salsola), a genus of plants of the natural order Chenopodiaceæ, having hermaphrodite flowers, with 5-parted perianth and a transverse appendage at the base of each of its segments, five stamens and two styles, the seed with a simple integument. The species are numerous, mostly natives of salt marshes and sea-shores, widely diffused. One only, the Prickly Saltwort (S. kali), is found in Britain. The plant is annual, with prostrate much-branched stems,awl-shaped spine-pointed leaves, and axillary solitary greenish flowers. It was formerly collected in considerable quantities on the western shores of Britain, to be burned for the sake of the soda which it thus yields. S. sativa is the chief Barilla (q.v.) plant of the south of Spain.