Salicornia oil is a pressed oil, derived from the seeds of the Salicornia bigelovii, a halophyte (salt-loving plant) native to Mexico.
The use of salicornia as an oil crop has been championed by researcher Carl Hodges, and was the subject of a 1991 New York Times article.[1] More recently, Hodges and his team have continued their work in Mexico, irrigating fields with sea water in farms near the Sea of Cortez.[2] Salicornia seeds contain 30% oil by weight, compared to 17-20% for soybeans. The oil itself contains 72% linoleic acid, which is comparable to safflower oil.[3]