How to Grow and Care for Kali

Kali tragus subsp. tragus can be eaten raw or cooked when young and tender. Older plants, on the other hand, become too tough and woody to eat. Some individuals may be sensitive and allergic to this plant. When it becomes dry, it can be a fire hazard.

Prickly prickly saltwort is a halophyte plant—a plant that grows in places where the water is salty. When burned, the salt in this succulent plant produces sodium carbonate which was once used for glassmaking. Prickly prickly saltwort occurs across Europe, particularly along the shores of the Baltic Sea, the North Sea, and the Atlantic Ocean.

Slender Russian Thistle (Kali collina) is an annual herb that can grow to be 60 cm tall. Slender Russian Thistle is also called the tumbleweed for its seed dispersal, as well as the Tartar thistle. Species within the Kali genus were previously part of the Salsola genus.

It is native to Eurasia and it is present in the American southwest as an introduced species and sometimes a weed in sandy, disturbed habitat types. It is an annual herb forming a brambly clump of intricately branched, prostrate to erect stems growing up to a meter long.

Kali komarovii is a low-growing annual plant that is cultivated as a food crop for its leaves and young shoots. In Japan, where seaweed is a delicacy, this plant is honored by the name "okahijiki," which translates to "land seaweed." This plant is tolerant of both humidity and salinity and grows well in full sun or partial shade.