Agretti

The salsola soda (also known as “risolo”, friar’s beard, beard of the Negus or agretto) is a plant belonging to the Chenopodiaceae family (assigned to the Amaranthaceae by the APG classification). It is a small annual species (maximum 70 centimeters) and has succulent leaves and stem. It is a halophyte plant, and as such requires salt-rich soils; it usually grows in coastal areas and is native to the Mediterranean basin.

Their life cycle is annual and they are available on the market in the early spring and summer periods.

It is a plant with multiple uses; it is edible and is therefore widely used in the kitchen and was also used in the past as an important source of sodium carbonate, which was extracted from its ashes after combustion.