Salt glands of some halophytes in Egypt

Twelve species of salt excreting halophytes were collected from the salt ma rshes along the Red Sea (arid) and the west Mediterranean (semi-arid) coast s in Egypt. Those species belonged to seven genera and six families. The da ta revealed that the structure of the salt glands varied greatly among the investigated taxa and can be categorized in five groups. These groups are t he vesiculated hairs or bladders of Chenopodiaceae; glands of Tamaricaceae and Frankeniaceae; glands of Plumbaginaceae; glands of Avicennia marina and glands of Aeluropus lagopoides. The results revealed also that the excrete d salts are mostly composed of NaCl, but with more or less selectivity amon g different species. The composition of other ions varied also according to the different species.