Pickleweed (salicornia) is a succulent that grows on the fringes of salt-marshes and alkali ponds in our area. It is an annual of the saltwort family that grows up around the edges of ponds in the summer, then turns red in the fall.

The plant is edible and was used by Aboriginal people as a food source. It is also used in some locations as animal feed and some varieties are used in regional recipes. The plant has a salty, “pickled” taste.

In the Kamloops area, salicornia rubra (red glassfire or red swampfire) is easily spotted around alkali ponds near Sugarloaf Hill, Afton Mine, and in the middle grasslands at the edge of the alkali salts ring around a pond. Our favorite is Saltwort Pond in the hills above Kamloops Lake, here seen in the spring before pickleweed growth.