SAMPHIRE

glasswort, samphire, Salicornia europaea

(noun) fleshy maritime plant having fleshy stems with rudimentary scalelike leaves and small spikes of minute flowers; formerly used in making glass

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Noun

samphire (countable and uncountable, plural samphires)

One of several salt-tolerant plants, some edible

marsh samphire, glasswort (genus Salicornia), a plant once burned to produce ash used to make soda glass.

Rock samphire (Crithmum maritimum).

golden samphire (Inula crithmoides, now Limbarda crithmoides).

Borrichia arborescens of the West Indies.

Plants of genus Sarcocornia

Plants of genus Tecticornia

Anagrams

• pesharim, seraphim

Source: Wiktionary

Sam"phire ( or ; 277), n. Etym: [F. l'herbe de Saint Pierre. See Saint, and Petrel.] (Bot.) (a) A fleshy, suffrutescent, umbelliferous European plant (Crithmum maritimum). It grows among rocks and on cliffs along the seacoast, and is used for pickles. Hangs one that gathers samphire, dreadful trade! Scak.

(b) The species of glasswort (Salicornia herbacea); -- called in England marsh samphire. (c) A seashore shrub (Borrichia arborescens) of the West Indies. Golden samphire. See under Golden.

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition