It inhabits sandy steppes with Artemisia, glasswort and tamarisk. This left the soil salty enough to support the glasswort. There are also certain medicinal properties to glasswort. Glasswort, "Sarcocornia quinqueflora," is not endemic to New Zealand. Therefore, this is another way of obtaining additional water from air, e.g., glasswort and cord-grass. On the seaward margin is much glasswort. Glasswort, "Sarcocornia quinqueflora," is a species of succulent, salt tolerant plant. Their most important food plants are Beaded Glasswort ("Sarcocornia quinqueflora") and Shrubby Glasswort ("Tecticornia arbuscula"). This is thought to be how glasswort received its name. One species known to rely heavily on the glasswort is the Orange-Bellied Parrot ("Neophema chrysogaster"). One way of reducing sodium carbonate is to cultivate glasswort or saltwort or barilla plants. The glasswort is a halophyte, so it prefers soils with high salinities. Historically, people used to burn glasswort to collect the ashes. Sea lavender and glasswort flourish, along with tamarisks and reeds. While glasswort grows on many European tidal banks, the mangroves of the tropics are extensive.