The golden samphire (''Limbarda crithmoides'') is a
perennial coastal species, which may be found growing on
salt marsh or sea
cliffs across western and southern
Europe and the
Mediterranean.
Golden samphire has a tufted habit, and the plant may grow up to 1 m tall. It has narrow fleshy green to yellow green
leaves
A leaf (plural, : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant plant stem, stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", wh ...
and large
flower heads, with six yellow
ray florets which may be up to across. The flowers are self-fertile (able to pollinate themselves) and may also be
pollinated by
bee
Bees are winged insects closely related to wasps and ants, known for their roles in pollination and, in the case of the best-known bee species, the western honey bee, for producing honey. Bees are a monophyly, monophyletic lineage within the ...
s,
flies and
beetles. They bloom between June and October and can smell like shoe polish.
[Chris Gibson ]
Taxonomy
It was first described by
Carl Linnaeus as ''Inula crithmoides'' in his book '
Species Plantarum
' (Latin for "The Species of Plants") is a book by Carl Linnaeus, originally published in 1753, which lists every species of plant known at the time, classified into genera. It is the first work to consistently apply binomial names and was the ...
' 2 on page 883 in 1753 and then later when the genus was renamed, it was published as ''Limbarda crithmoides'' by
Barthélemy Charles Joseph Dumortier
Barthélemy Charles Joseph Dumortier (; 3 April 1797 in Tournai – 9 July 1878) was a Belgian who conducted a parallel career of botanist and Member of Parliament.
Biography
Barthélemy Dumortier was a son of the merchant and city councillor Ba ...
in Fl. Belg. on page 68 in 1827.
It was verified by
United States Department of Agriculture and the
Agricultural Research Service
The Agricultural Research Service (ARS) is the principal in-house research agency of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). ARS is one of four agencies in USDA's Research, Education and Economics mission area. ARS is charged with ext ...
on 11 June 2015.
Known subspecies;
[
* ''Limbarda crithmoides'' subsp. ''crithmoides''
* ''Limbarda crithmoides'' subsp. ''longifolia'' (Arcang.) Greuter
]
Distribution and habitat
It is native
Native may refer to:
People
* Jus soli, citizenship by right of birth
* Indigenous peoples, peoples with a set of specific rights based on their historical ties to a particular territory
** Native Americans (disambiguation)
In arts and entert ...
to temperate parts of Africa, Asia and Europe.[
]
Range
It is found in Africa, within Algeria, Egypt (incl. Sinai), Libya, Morocco and Tunisia. In Asia, it is found in Israel, Lebanon, Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and Turkey.
Europe, within Ireland, United Kingdom (where it is mostly found in the Isle of Sheppey), Albania, Croatia, Greece (incl. Crete), Italy (incl. Sardinia and Sicily), Malta, Montenegro and Slovenia. Also within south-western European countries of France (incl. Corsica
Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and lies southeast of ...
), Portugal, Spain (incl. Baleares).[
]
Uses
Young leaves may be eaten raw or cooked as a leaf vegetable.[The Wild Flowers of Britain and Northern Europe published by Collins 1974 ] It was formerly sold in markets in London for uses in pickles.
In Lebanon, it was evaluated for use in saline agriculture.
References
External links
Wildscreen Arkive, Limbarda (Limbarda crithmoides)
photo
{{Taxonbar, from=Q918579
Inuleae
Leaf vegetables
Halophytes
Flora of Asia
Flora of North Africa
Flora of Europe
Plants described in 1753
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus