Salicornia europaea var. pachystachya(W.D.J.Koch) Fernald
Salicornia gracillimaMoss
Salicornia herbacea(L.) L.
Salicornia herbacea var. annua(Sm.) Pursh
Salicornia herbacea var. pachystachyaW.D.J.Koch
Salicornia herbacea var. ramosissimaHook.f.
Salicornia intermediaJ.Woods
Salicornia megastachyaJ.Woods
Salicornia peregrinaWeinm. ex Ung.-Sternb.
Salicornia radicansMert. & W.D.J.Koch
Salicornia ramosissima(Hook.f.) J.Woods ex W.A.Clarke & E.S.Marshall
Salicornia salsolaMontbret ex Ung.-Sternb.
Salicornia simonkaianaSoó
Salicornia smithianaMoss
Salicornia europaea, known as marsh samphire,[2]common glasswort[3] or just glasswort, is a
halophytic annual
dicotflowering plant in the family
Amaranthaceae. Glasswort is a succulent herb also known as "pickle weed" or "
marsh samphire". As a succulent, it has high water content, which accounts for its slightly translucent look and gives it the descriptive name "glasswort". To some people, it is known as "chicken toe" because of its shape. To others, it is called "saltwort".[4] It grows in various zones of intertidal
salt marshes, on beaches, and among
mangroves.[5]
Description
Glasswort plants are relatively small and have jointed, bright green stems. During the fall, these plants turn red or purple. Their leaves are small and scale like, and they produce fleshy fruits that contain a single seed.[6]
Like most members of the subfamily
Salicornioideae, Salicornia species use the
C3 carbon fixation pathway to take in carbon dioxide from the surrounding atmosphere.[7]
Cultivation
Salicornia prefers a light, sandy soil (or a well-drained soil) and a sunny position. Samphire can be planted out once the danger of frosts is past. Salicornia is best watered with a saline solution of 1 teaspoon of sea salt in 1 imp pt (0.57 L) of water.[8]Salicornia grow best in 200 mM NaCl.[9]
In the Northern Hemisphere, the harvesting of samphire shoots takes place from June to August. After that time shoots will become woody. Treat samphire as a slow-growing cut-and-come-again crop and leave a month between each cut.[8]
Uses
The ashes of
glasswort and
saltwort plants (
barilla) and of
kelp were long used as a source of soda ash (mainly
sodium carbonate) for glassmaking and soapmaking.[10]
The introduction of the
Leblanc process for the industrial production of soda ash in the first half of the 19th century superseded the use of plant sources.[citation needed]
S. europaea is edible, either cooked or raw.[6] In the UK, it is one of several plants known as samphire; the term is believed to be a corruption of the French name, herbe de Saint-Pierre, which means "St. Peter's herb".[11]
Samphire is usually cooked, then coated in butter or olive oil. Due to its high salt content, it must be cooked without any salt added, in plenty of water. After cooking, it resembles seaweed in colour, and the flavour and texture are like young spinach stems, asparagus, or artichoke. Samphire is often used as a suitably maritime accompaniment to fish or seafood.[12]
Pharmacological research
In South Korea, Phyto Corporation has developed a technology of extracting low-sodium salt from Salicornia europaea, a salt-accumulating plant. The company claims the naturally-derived plant salt is effective in treating high blood pressure and fatty liver disease by reducing sodium intake.[13] The company has also developed a desalted Salicornia powder containing antioxidative and antithrombus
polyphenols, claimed to be effective in treating obesity and
arteriosclerosis, as well as providing a means to help resolve global food shortages.[14]
Environmental uses
Salicornia europaea is a new candidate plant species for using in effective
phytoremediation of
cadmium-contaminated saline soils.[15]
^Kadereit, G.; Borsch, T.; Weising, K.; Freitag, H. (2003). "Phylogeny of Amaranthaceae and Chenopodiaceae and the evolution of C4 photosynthesis". International Journal of Plant Sciences. 164 (6): 959–86.
doi:
10.1086/378649.
S2CID83564261.
^Govantes-Edwards, David J.; Duckworth, Chloë N.; Córdoba, Ricardo (2016). "Recipes and experimentation? The transmission of glassmaking techniques in Medieval Iberia". Journal of Medieval Iberian Studies. 8 (2): 176–195.
doi:
10.1080/17546559.2016.1209779.
S2CID163514723.
^Davidson, Alan (2002). The Penguin Companion To Food (Penguin), p. 828.
ISBN978-0-14-200163-9. On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, Completely Revised and Updated (Scribner, New York), p. 317.
ISBN978-0-684-80001-1.
^Ozawa, T.; Miura, M.; Fukuda, M.; Kakuta, S. (2009). "Cadmium tolerance and accumulation in a halophyte Salicornia europaea as a new candidate for phytoremediation of saline soils". Scientific Report of the Graduate School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Osaka Prefecture University. 60: 1–8.