One of the most beautiful seasons at Greenbelt’s Cox Reservation is Fall when the salt marsh that borders the property turns bright red.
In the right light the marsh looks like it has rippling red waves.
The plants turning bright red at Cox and in the salt marshes on other Greenbelt properties are Salicornia, a salt-tolerant plant which grows on muddy stretches of the marsh that flood during high tides.
Green in the spring and summer, as the days grow shorter the marsh turns a color best appreciated in the autumn sunlight. The plants provide a lovely flush of color in low areas of the salt marsh.
The plant might also be called “salt horn,” though it is commonly known as Glasswort or Pickleweed.
The common name glasswort comes from its historic use as a source of soda ash for glassmaking.