Soil salinity inhibits photosynthesis thereby reducing crop growth and yield. To create salt-tolerant crops, germplasms exhibiting enhanced photosynthesis under salt stress must be identified. In this study, we examined the ability of leaf tissue to maintain its greenness and photosynthesis in a range of cereals containing A, B, D and R genomes (Avena sativa, Hordeum vulgare, Aegilos tauschii, Triticum monococum, T. durum, three varieties of T. aestivum, Secale cereale, and a hybrid between T.aestivum and S. cereale) by exposing whole plants and excised leaves to 150mM and 50 mM of NaCl, respectively. The measurements of chlorophyll content, photosynthetic parameters, dead leaf percentage, leaf ion (Na and K) concentrations, and intracellular Na distribution within the mesophyll cell compartments using CoRoNaGreen dye revealed that the presence of D genome underpins leaf greenness and photosynthesis during salt stress. Despite having the D genome, there was a striking variability in leaf greenness maintenance and photosynthesis among different varieties of T. aestivum, with “Chinese spring” as the most salt tolerant followed by “Mace” and “Thatcher” – implying how the salt load is managed within in the chloroplasts and vacuole may hold the key to leaf greenness.