Suaeda aralocaspica is a species of plant in the family Amaranthaceae that is restricted to the deserts of Central Asia. It is a halophyte and uses carbon fixation but lacks the characteristic leaf anatomy of other plants (known as kranz anatomy). Carrying out complete C<sub>4</sub> photosynthesis within individual cells, these plants instead are known as singleâÂÂcell C4 system or SCC<sub>4</sub> plants. This makes them distinct from typical C<sub>4</sub> plants, which require the collaboration of two types of photosynthetic cells. SCC<sub>4</sub> plants have features that make them potentially valuable in engineering higher photosynthetic efficiencies in agriculturally important C<sub>3</sub> carbon fixation species such as rice. To address this, the 467 Mb genome of S. aralocaspica has been sequenced to help understanding of the evolution of SCC<sub>4</sub> photosynthesis and contribute to the engineering of C<sub>4</sub> photosynthesis into other economically important crops.
It is monoecious, annual and grows to a height of between . It flowers in August, producing seeds of two different sizes that differ in their morphology, dormancy and germination characteristics.
The species was formerly classified in its own genus Borszczowia, which is now treated as section within genus Suaeda.