Salicornia maritima was treated by P. C. Standley (1916) as S. prostrata, although his circumscription included only prostrate and procumbent individuals. He appears to have included erect plants in S. europaea. Salicornia prostrata is a Eurasian species which occurs mostly in inland habitats in its native range.

The populations identified as Salicornia maritima from James Bay, in Ontario and Quebec, are morphologically similar to those from the Atlantic Coast, but their isozyme profile is identical to that of S. rubra. The report of S. maritima from Maine is based on Standley’s citation of S. prostrata, but it requires confirmation. The species occurs in New Brunswick adjacent to the Maine border.