This plant has the tiniest of flowers so without a hand lens you wouldn't know whether it was in flower or not. It is very common on salt marshes and always has this tree like structure. In the old days the silica-rich ash from burning this plant was used for making glass.

Salicornia europaea is almost entirely a coastal species and is found at most coastal habitats in England, Ireland, Wales and southern Scotland but it is far less common in northern and north eastern Scotland.