samphire
What is samphire?
How did samphire get its name?
What are the major types of samphire?
What historical use did marsh samphire have?
What are the nutritional components of samphire?
samphire, a number of unrelated succulent, salt-tolerant (halophytic), shrublike plants that grow in coastal marshes and on mangroves, mudflats, rocky cliffs, and beaches in both tropical and temperate regions. The name samphire comes from the French name for these plants, herbe de Saint Pierre, which honors St. Peter, the patron saint of fisherfolk, and reflects the habitat preference of these plants and their popularity with fishing communities. Despite belonging to different plant families, these plants are all grouped under the term samphire because of similarities in their habitats and culinary uses. The most common samphire belongs to three genera—Salicornia, which has a cosmopolitan distribution, Crithmum, which is found in Europe, West Asia, and North Africa, and Tecticornia, which is largely limited to Australia. Samphire plants can isolate and store excess salt in structures called vacuoles in the cells of their roots, stems, and leaves, and several species are consumed for their salty flavor and crunchy texture.
Major types
Two of the most widely consumed species of samphire are the marsh samphire (S. europaea) and the rock samphire (C. maritimum). The rock samphire was the more popular edible variety in the past but has now been largely replaced on menus by the more commonly sourced marsh samphire.
Marsh samphire
Marsh samphire belongs to the family Amaranthaceae, which also includes beets, spinach, quinoa, and amaranths. It grows about 35 cm (14 inches) tall and looks like a succulent cactus with its green jointed stem and scalelike leaves. The plant thrives on muddy and sandy flats near estuaries, tidal creeks, and mangroves across northern and western Europe. The tender tips of the stem are eaten in salads and fish dishes or pickled, earning the plant the nicknames sea asparagus, pickleweed, and sea bean. Marsh samphire is rich in sodium carbonate, or soda ash, which led to its historical use in glassmaking. During the ancient and medieval periods, glassmakers burnt the plant and mixed its ash with sand to make glass. Because of the plant’s importance, glassmaking workshops in the 14th century were often located near areas where the plant grew. This use gave rise to one of its nicknames, the common glasswort, which, according to some experts, predates its current name, marsh samphire. Samphire remained essential to glassmaking until the early 19th century, when improved methods of producing soda from sodium chloride transformed the industry.
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Rock samphire
Rock samphire used to be particularly popular with the elite, but by the end of the 19th century it had been largely replaced by the marsh samphire (called “poor man’s samphire”), mostly because of the difficulty in obtaining it. This member of the Apiaceae family, which includes carrots, parsley, and fennel, is a perennial or annual bushy shrub about 40 cm (16 inches) tall. It grows on rocky cliffs along coastal southern and western Europe, including the United Kingdom and Ireland. Harvesting is treacherous and was historically done by lowering someone down a high cliff with a rope. It was such a dangerous job that even the playwright William Shakespeare mentions it in his play King Lear (Act IV, scene 6):
Halfway down
Hangs one that gathers samphire—dreadful trade
Rock samphire is widely considered the “true” samphire and the basis of the name herbe de Saint Pierre. Its fleshy green leaves and young stems are usually cooked with vinegar and pickled. It can have a pungent, aromatic taste with citrus notes and hints of carrot and fennel (hence its nickname, sea fennel), although some have described the taste as similar to that of kerosene. A variety of rock samphire called paccassassi del conero is popular in Italy.
Other notable species
The Tecticornia species is an important component of salt marshes and mangroves. T. arbuscula (shrubby samphire), T. flabelliformis (fan or bead samphire), T. pergranulata (blackseed samphire), T. halocnemoides (gray samphire), and T. indica (brownheaded samphire) are some of the samphire species valued for their role in hosting coastal biodiversity. The young shoots of T. lepidosperma, which is native to Western Australia, are consumed raw, sauteed, or blanched and dressed with olive oil. The leaves, flower buds, and young shoots of the golden samphire (Limbarda crithmoides), which is native to western Europe and the Mediterranean region, are also pickled. The flowers of this plant are important food sources for insects.
Nutritional profile and industrial uses
Samphire plants are a rich source of minerals, such as sodium, calcium, potassium, iron, manganese, magnesium, and iodine, as well as vitamin C, carotenoids, and flavonoids. Amino acids such as glycine, leucine, lysine, glutamic acid, and aspartic acid have also been isolated from certain species. The mineral and nutrient content of the plant varies, depending on the species and the region where it grows. The Salicornia species has been used to produce alternatives to common salt, such as the green salt or vegetable salt developed by the Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute of India and marketed under the brand name Saloni. Some species of samphire are used to produce biodiesel, oil, and animal feed, as well as to soak up salt from salt-damaged lands.
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