The sansouire
Sansouires are steppes with salty soil where adapted plants grow, the glassworts. Often turned over to farming, those that remain are now protected.
Glasswort
Glassworts (*Salicornia*, from Latin *sal*, salt, and *cornu*, horn) are low, fleshy annual plants that grow on salt-rich soils. Their stems look jointed and their leaves are reduced to small sheaths. Young shoots of common glasswort are edible, pickled in vinegar or in salads. When burned, the plant once yielded soda ash used for soap and glass.
Other habitats
Freshwater marshes host reeds, irises and rushes. Sea lavender also grows in salty ground, and the sea daffodil flowers in the dunes. Woodland now covers only 3% of the area.
Test yourself
What is a sansouire?
- A salty-soil steppe (answer)
- A pine forest
- A deep lagoon
Where does the name Salicornia come from?
- Salt and horn (answer)
- Sand and cone
- Willow and horn
What share of the area is woodland?
- 3% (answer)
- 30%
- 60%