Sarcocornia/Salicornia began to evolve during the Mid Miocene from ancestors in Eurasia, developing four phylogenetic lineages: the first was the Eurasian Sarcocornia clade, further diversifying into the American Sarcocornia clade, then the Salicornia clade, and the South African/Australian Sarcocornia clade.
The prostrate, mat-forming growth seems to have evolved several times independently.