# Samphire
**Samphire** is a common name applied to two unrelated coastal plants eaten as salty vegetables: the marsh samphires, succulent annual and perennial halophytes of the genera *Salicornia* and *Sarcocornia* in the [Amaranthaceae](https://www.edgepedia.org/amaranthaceae), and rock samphire (*[Crithmum maritimum](https://www.edgepedia.org/crithmum-maritimum)*), an umbellifer of sea cliffs. The name derives from the French *herbe de Saint Pierre*, Saint Peter being the patron saint of fishermen, because the plants bearing it grow on rocky, salt-sprayed coasts and in coastal marshes[1](https://www.tcd.ie/tceh/projects/foodsmartdublin/recipes/July_Samphire/HistoryEcology_Samphire.php). In English the name was recorded as *sampere* before being anglicized to samphire in the mid-16th century[2](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8625059/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Plants covered | Marsh samphire (*Salicornia* and *Sarcocornia*, Amaranthaceae) and rock samphire (*Crithmum maritimum*, a unrelated umbellifer); the two are often confused[3](https://app.ckbk.com/reference/food77337c19s001e054/samphire) |
| Etymology | From French *herbe de Saint Pierre*, after St Peter, patron saint of fishermen[1](https://www.tcd.ie/tceh/projects/foodsmartdublin/recipes/July_Samphire/HistoryEcology_Samphire.php) |
| Glasswort | Name arises from burning soda-rich ashes of the plants for use in early glass making; Turner's Herball (1568) calls them 'saltwurt' and 'glaswede'[4](https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.0022-0477.2001.00607.x) |
| Tribe size | Salicornieae comprise about 100 species of succulent halophytes in saline inland and coastal communities worldwide[5](https://academic.oup.com/botlinnean/article/203/1/20/7202279) |
| Food use | Young fleshy edible tips of *Sarcocornia* and *Salicornia* are sold in Europe as "samphire" or "sea asparagus"[2](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8625059/) |
| Commercial figure | Farmed samphire yields about 30 tons per hectare and sells at about £20 per kilo, among the most expensive vegetables in British supermarkets[6](https://www.countrylife.co.uk/nature/food-with-a-pinch-of-salt-the-crops-we-can-harvest-from-the-sea) |
## Marsh samphire: the glassworts
The plants most often sold as samphire are the glassworts. *Salicornia* species are annual, apparently leafless halophytic herbs with articulated, succulent stems; the pair of leaves at each node is reduced to little more than a rim, and the green succulent stem segments carry out photosynthesis[4](https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.0022-0477.2001.00607.x). Marsh samphire in Britain is a low, bushy succulent annual, typically 10 to 30 cm tall, made of segmented, jointed cylindrical stems with no visible separate leaves[7](https://foragingmaps.co.uk/species/marsh-samphire.html).
**Taxonomy.** The group is notoriously difficult. A combination of inbreeding, which produces locally differentiated populations, and considerable phenotypic plasticity has created great taxonomic complexity, compounded by extremely reduced morphology and the poor fit of dried specimens to a succulent growth form[4](https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.0022-0477.2001.00607.x). The tribe Salicornieae contains about 100 species; the two largest genera, *Salicornia* and the almost entirely Australian *Tecticornia*, hold roughly three-quarters of that diversity[5](https://academic.oup.com/botlinnean/article/203/1/20/7202279).
The perennial samphires were separated as the genus *Sarcocornia* by A. J. Scott in 1977, splitting them from *Salicornia* and *Arthrocnemum* on morphological grounds. *Sarcocornia* comprises about 28 succulent species found in saline vegetation worldwide, predominantly in warm-temperate and, to a lesser extent, subtropical regions[8](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4332613/). The two genera are so similar that they can be distinguished only by inflorescence characters and life form: *Sarcocornia* is always perennial, with flowers of more or less equal size arranged in a horizontal row, while *Salicornia* is always annual, with distinctly unequal flowers in a triangular arrangement[8](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4332613/). Later molecular work found *Sarcocornia* to be paraphyletic, and it has been folded into an expanded *Salicornia* divided into four subgenera[5](https://academic.oup.com/botlinnean/article/203/1/20/7202279).
The best-known species, *Salicornia europaea* (common glasswort, sea samphire), was first published by Linnaeus in *Species Plantarum* in 1753; it is an annual native to northern and western Europe, growing primarily in the temperate biome, and is assessed as not threatened[9](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A166520-1/general-information).
**Ecology.** Glassworts grow on coastal salt marshes and inland saline sites, from subarctic to subtropical climates and from oceanic to continental conditions. Their northern limit corresponds with the 10 °C July isotherm[4](https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.0022-0477.2001.00607.x). In a glasshouse comparison of relative growth rates with 15 salt marsh species, *Salicornia* ranked among the most salt-tolerant, both under flooded and well-drained conditions[4](https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.0022-0477.2001.00607.x). Different species occupy different heights in the tidal frame: in Norfolk, *S. dolichostachya* occurs low in the marsh and experiences more than 600 tidal submergences per year, while *S. pusilla* is restricted to the highest parts, inundated mainly by spring tides[4](https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.0022-0477.2001.00607.x).
## Rock samphire
Rock samphire, *Crithmum maritimum*, is a maritime umbellifer, also called sea fennel, native to sea cliffs and shingle beaches on the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts of Europe and on the [Black Sea](https://www.edgepedia.org/black-sea). Its culinary and medicinal use extends from Greek antiquity to the present, and it was more important historically as a foodstuff than as a medicament; coastal development and over-foraging have reduced its wild populations[10](https://blog.metmuseum.org/cloistersgardens/2012/09/07/rock-samphire/). It is unrelated to the glassworts, though both are halophytes, salt-loving plants that cannot grow in pure freshwater habitats[1](https://www.tcd.ie/tceh/projects/foodsmartdublin/recipes/July_Samphire/HistoryEcology_Samphire.php).
The plant has a literary foothold. Harvesting rock samphire from cliffs was dangerous enough in Shakespeare's day for him to call it a "dreadful trade" in *King Lear*[11](https://www.countrylife.co.uk/countryside/rural-life/from-coast-to-coast-why-seaside-foraging-is-in-our-blood). Its flavor combines notes of parsley, sorrel, fennel, and watercress, and it was cultivated in English gardens for pickles and salads, though more often gathered from the shore[11](https://www.countrylife.co.uk/countryside/rural-life/from-coast-to-coast-why-seaside-foraging-is-in-our-blood).
## Names and history of use
The common names record the plants' uses. Glasswort comes from burning the soda-rich ashes of marsh samphire for use in early glass making; William Turner's Herball refers to the plants as 'saltwurt' and 'glaswede' in 1568, and the scientific name *Salicornia* originates from Dodonaeus's *Pemptades* of 1583[4](https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.0022-0477.2001.00607.x). Other vernacular and trade names include pickleweed, poorman's asparagus, sea beans, crow's foot greens, and sea asparagus[2](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8625059/). In Ireland, marsh samphire is called *cnámhlus* and rock samphire *craobhraic*[1](https://www.tcd.ie/tceh/projects/foodsmartdublin/recipes/July_Samphire/HistoryEcology_Samphire.php).
As a food, the young fleshy tips of the glassworts are eaten, often lightly cooked or raw, and their salty taste has drawn interest as a clean-label way to reduce added sodium in food products[2](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8625059/).
## Saline agriculture
Because agricultural land is becoming increasingly saline in some regions, the potential of *Salicornia* as a crop plant has generated growing research interest[5](https://academic.oup.com/botlinnean/article/203/1/20/7202279). Halophytes of the lower coastal salt marsh grow faster than upper marsh species under high salinity, indicating limited energy costs of salt tolerance in genera such as *Salicornia* and a good outlook for cultivating it as a vegetable crop[12](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0098847212001645). Commercial figures support the case: farmed samphire yields about 30 tons per hectare and, at roughly £20 per kilo, ranks among the most expensive vegetables in British supermarkets, with the residual nutritional biomass proposed for livestock feed, cosmetics, and pharmaceuticals, all grown without freshwater[6](https://www.countrylife.co.uk/nature/food-with-a-pinch-of-salt-the-crops-we-can-harvest-from-the-sea).
## References
1. [History of the Irish Samphire, Trinity Centre for Environmental Humanities, Trinity College Dublin](https://www.tcd.ie/tceh/projects/foodsmartdublin/recipes/July_Samphire/HistoryEcology_Samphire.php)
2. [A Review on Sarcocornia Species: Ethnopharmacology, Nutritional Properties, Phytochemistry, Biological Activities and Propagation, PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8625059/)
3. [Samphire, Oxford Companion to Food (Alan Davidson), ckbk](https://app.ckbk.com/reference/food77337c19s001e054/samphire)
4. [Davy, A. J., Bishop, G. F., & Costa, C. S. B. (2001). Salicornia L. Journal of Ecology 89: 681–707](https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1046/j.0022-0477.2001.00607.x)
5. [Cousins-Westerberg, R. et al. (2023). Evolution of cold tolerance in the highly stress-tolerant samphires and relatives (Salicornieae: Amaranthaceae). Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society 203: 20–36](https://academic.oup.com/botlinnean/article/203/1/20/7202279)
6. [Food with a pinch of salt: The crops we can harvest from the sea, Country Life](https://www.countrylife.co.uk/nature/food-with-a-pinch-of-salt-the-crops-we-can-harvest-from-the-sea)
7. [Marsh Samphire: UK Identification & Dangerous Look-Alikes, Foraging Maps](https://foragingmaps.co.uk/species/marsh-samphire.html)
8. [Phylogeny, biogeography and ecological diversification of Sarcocornia (Salicornioideae, Amaranthaceae), PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4332613/)
9. [Salicornia europaea L., Plants of the World Online, Kew Science](https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn%3Alsid%3Aipni.org%3Anames%3A166520-1/general-information)
10. [Rock Samphire, The Medieval Garden Enclosed, The Metropolitan Museum of Art](https://blog.metmuseum.org/cloistersgardens/2012/09/07/rock-samphire/)
11. [From coast to coast: Why seaside foraging is in our blood, Country Life](https://www.countrylife.co.uk/countryside/rural-life/from-coast-to-coast-why-seaside-foraging-is-in-our-blood)
12. [Salt tolerance of halophytes, research questions reviewed in the perspective of saline agriculture, ScienceDirect](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0098847212001645)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Places and geography › Waters and hydrographic features › Springs, waterfalls, and wetlands › Wetland habitats, ecology, and science › Wetland flora › Salt marsh and tidal flora*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license