Twelve species of salt excreting halophytes were collected from the salt marshes
along the Red Sea (arid) and the west Mediterranean (semi-arid) coasts in Egypt.
Those species belonged to seven genera and six families. The data revealed that the
structure of the salt glands varied greatly among the investigated taxa and can be
categorized in five groups. These groups are the 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 excreted salts are mostly composed of NaCI, but with more or
less selectivity among different species. The composition of other ions varied also
according to the different species.