• DOI:10.1007/BF03183925
• Corpus ID: 32113455

Barilla (Salsola soda, Chenopodiaceae)

@article{Hammer2010BarillaS,
  title={Barilla (Salsola soda, Chenopodiaceae)},
  author={K. Hammer and D. Pignone and S. Cifarelli and P. Perrino},
  journal={Economic Botany},
  year={2010},
  volume={44},
  pages={410-412}
}

• K. Hammer, D. Pignone, +1 author P. Perrino
• Published 1 September 1990
• Biology
• Economic Botany

Barilla (Salsola soda, Chenopodiaceae).-The number ofplants used by people as source of food or of other useful material has been dramatically decreasing in the last decennia. Barilla (Salsola soda L., Chenopodiaceae) is one of those plants that have lost economic importance as a consequence ofnew industrial processes. In fact, it was formerly needed for the production of impure sodium carbonate that was used, e.g., for production of soap and glass. This impure salt was called "barilla," hence the name of the plant. Barilla was obtained from the ashes of S. soda and other halophilous plants able to produce sodium carbonate from the sodium chloride in the soil; it was also obtained from seaweeds. Barilla from S. soda was preferred for the glass industry over that produced from other terrestrial plants, which was richer in potassium salts and therefore employed in soap preparation. Salsola soda is an erect glabrous annual, 0.5-0.8 m high, with a short taproot; the succulent leaves are semi-cylindrical, 2-7 em long and 2 mm wide, and shortly mucronate at the apex (Fig. 1); the flowers are small, sessile, hermaphrodite (Fig. 2), axillary to leaves, and conspicuously bibracteolate; perianth segments 5, becoming hardened in fruit; stamens 5; ovary round and depressed, stigmas 2(-3); fruits indehiscent (Fig. 3), 1 seeded, the seed vertical, oblique, or horizontal. This plant had some importance since it was possible to cultivate it in those salty lands where no other crops could give a good yield, or in those areas where irrigation was possible only with salty water. Moreover, it is a very tough plant, resistant to environmental stress, needing only periodic watering and weeding. It is spread in South Europe, particularly in marginal areas near the coast (l, 2). Barilla plants were cultivated also to reclaim brackish swamps (3). Nowadays it is very difficult to give an estimate of the former economic importance of this species because soda lye was obtained also from the ashes ofother plants, particularly trees, and because of the time that has elapsed since this plant was more widely used. As a fact, the Solvay process, which leads to rather pure sodium carbonate to be used in all industrial processes, progressively replaced the production of barilla from plants since the beginning of the present century. The yield in barilla was about 0.6 tons per hectare (3). Whereas there are no recent reports concerning the cultivation of S. soda for the production of sodium carbonate, it is still grown as a horticultural plant. The young plantlets are raised as a vegetable (4, 5). Presently the plant is grown only as source offood, being considered a sort of"delicacy," especially in central Italy. It is rather easy to find bundles of young plants sold in the markets there (Fig. 4) in summer and autumn. The edible part is represented by the young and tender sprouts; these are briefly boiled and then seasoned with lemon juice and olive oil. They have a sourish taste, which is particularly appreciated by most consumers. It is interesting to point out that the plant is used similarly on a small scale also in Japan (2, 6). Salsola soda is known in Italy with different names: riscolo, roscano, and barella (7); in Rome the young plantlets are sold under the name agretti, because of their slightly bitter taste. This plant has also played a minor role in popular medicine: it was considered to be diuretic, aperitif, and vermifuge.