Salicornia europaea , known as common glasswort or just glasswort, is a halophytic annual dicot which grows in various zones of intertidal salt marshes. The ashes of glasswort and saltwort plants and of kelp were long used as a source of soda ash (mainly sodium carbonate) for glassmaking and soapmaking. The introduction of the LeBlanc process for the industrial production of soda ash superseded the use of plant sources in the first half of the 19th century.