HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Salicornia'' is a genus of succulent,
halophytic A halophyte is a salt-tolerant plant that grows in soil or waters of high salinity, coming into contact with saline water through its roots or by salt spray, such as in saline semi-deserts, mangrove swamps, marshes and sloughs and seashores. Th ...
(salt tolerant) flowering plants in the family
Amaranthaceae Amaranthaceae is a family of flowering plants commonly known as the amaranth family, in reference to its type genus ''Amaranthus''. It includes the former goosefoot family Chenopodiaceae and contains about 165 genera and 2,040 species, making i ...
that grow in
salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominate ...
es, on beaches, and among mangroves. ''Salicornia'' species are native to North America, Europe, Central Asia, and southern Africa. Common names for the genus include
glasswort The glassworts are various succulent, annual halophytic plants, that is, plants that thrive in saline environments, such as seacoasts and salt marshes. The original English glasswort plants belong to the genus '' Salicornia'', but today the gla ...
,
pickleweed Pickleweed is a common name used for two unrelated genera of flowering plants: *'' Batis'', family Bataceae *''Salicornia ''Salicornia'' is a genus of succulent, halophytic (salt tolerant) flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae that grow ...
, picklegrass, and marsh
samphire Samphire is a name given to a number of succulent salt-tolerant plants (halophytes) that tend to be associated with water bodies. *Rock samphire, ''Crithmum maritimum'' is a coastal species with white flowers that grows in Ireland, the Unit ...
; these common names are also used for some species not in ''Salicornia''. To French speakers in
Atlantic Canada Atlantic Canada, also called the Atlantic provinces (french: provinces de l'Atlantique), is the region of Eastern Canada comprising the provinces located on the Atlantic coast, excluding Quebec. The four provinces are New Brunswick, Newfoundlan ...
, they are known colloquially as ''titines de souris'' ('mouse tits'). The main European species is often eaten, called marsh samphire in Britain, and the main North American species is occasionally sold in grocery stores or appears on restaurant menus as sea beans, samphire greens or sea asparagus.


Description

The ''Salicornia'' species are small annual herbs. They grow prostrate to erect, their simple or branched stems are succulent, hairless, and appear to be jointed. The opposite
leaves A leaf ( : leaves) is any of the principal appendages of a vascular plant stem, usually borne laterally aboveground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, ste ...
are strongly reduced to small fleshy scales with a narrow dry margin, hairless, unstalked and united at the base, thus enclosing and forming a succulent sheath around the stem, which gives it the appearance of being composed of jointed segments.Ball, Peter W. (2004).
''Salicornia'' L.
," in ''Flora of North America: North of Mexic
Volume 4: Magnoliophyta: Caryophyllidae, part 1
'', Editorial Committee of the ''Flora of North America'' (Oxford University Press, 2004). . Online version retrieved August 10, 2016.
Many species are green, but their foliage turns red in autumn. Older stems may be somewhat woody basally. All stems terminate in spike-like apparently jointed inflorescences. Each joint consists of two opposite minute bracts with an (1-) 3-flowered cyme tightly embedded in cavities of the main axis and partly hidden by the bracts. The flowers are arranged in a triangle, both lateral flowers beneath the central flower. The hermaphrodite flowers are more or less radially symmetric, with a
perianth The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower, and structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepals when ...
of three fleshy tepals united nearly to the apex. There are 1–2 stamens and an ovary with two stigmas. The perianth is persistent in fruit. The fruit wall (pericarp) is membranous. The vertical seed is ellipsoid, with yellowish brown, membranous, hairy seed coat. The seed contains no
perisperm In seed plants, the ovule is the structure that gives rise to and contains the female reproductive cells. It consists of three parts: the ''integument'', forming its outer layer, the ''nucellus'' (or remnant of the megasporangium), and the fem ...
(feeding tissue). Like most members of the subfamily
Salicornioideae The Salicornioideae are a subfamily of the flowering plant family Amaranthaceae (''sensu lato'', including the Chenopodiaceae). Important characters are succulent, often articulated stems, strongly reduced leaves, and flowers aggregated in thick, ...
, ''Salicornia'' species use the C3 carbon fixation pathway to take in carbon dioxide from the surrounding atmosphere.


Taxonomy

The genus ''Salicornia'' was first described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus. ''
Salicornia europaea ''Salicornia europaea'', known as common glasswort or just glasswort, is a halophytic annual dicot flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae. Glasswort is a succulent herb also known as ‘Pickle weed’ or ‘ Marsh samphire’. As a succule ...
'' was selected as the type species. The genus probably originated during the Miocene in the region between the Mediterranean Basin and Central Asia. Evolving from within the perennial and frost-sensitive former genus ''Sarcocornia'' (now shown to be paraphyletic), the annual, strongly inbreeding and frost-tolerant ''Salicornia'' diversified during the late Pliocene to early Pleistocene. By events of intercontinental dispersals, they reached southern Africa twice and North America at least three times. Two tetraploid lineages expanded rapidly, with the ability to colonize lower belts of the
salt marsh A salt marsh or saltmarsh, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides. It is dominate ...
es than their diploid relatives. Inbreeding and geographical isolation led to a large number of reproductive isolated species that are only weakly differentiated. The taxonomic classification of this genus is extremely difficult (with one paper calling it a "taxonomic nightmare"). The determination of species seems almost impossible for non-specialists. The reasons for these difficulties are the reduced habit with weak morphological differentiation and high phenotypic variability. As the succulent plants lose their characteristics while drying, herbarium specimens often cannot be determined with certainty and are less suited for taxonomic studies.
Molecular phylogenetic Molecular phylogenetics () is the branch of phylogeny that analyzes genetic, hereditary molecular differences, predominantly in DNA sequences, to gain information on an organism's evolutionary relationships. From these analyses, it is possible to ...
studies have regularly revised the
circumscription Circumscription may refer to: *Circumscribed circle *Circumscription (logic) *Circumscription (taxonomy) * Circumscription theory, a theory about the origins of the political state in the history of human evolution proposed by the American anthrop ...
of the genus. It was considered distinct from ''Sarcocornia'' in 2007 and 2012 studies. A 2017 study resulted in ''Sarcocornia'' being sunk into ''Salicornia'', substantially increasing the size of the genus, which was divided into four subgenera.


Species

, Plants of the World Online accepted the following species: *'' Salicornia alpini'' Lag. *'' Salicornia ambigua'' Michx. *'' Salicornia andina'' Phil. *'' Salicornia bigelovii'' Torr. *'' Salicornia blackiana'' Ulbr. *'' Salicornia brachiata'' Roxb. *'' Salicornia capensis'' (Moss) Piirainen & G.Kadereit *'' Salicornia crassispica'' G.L.Chu *''
Salicornia cuscoensis ''Salicornia'' is a genus of succulent, halophytic (salt tolerant) flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae that grow in salt marshes, on beaches, and among mangroves. ''Salicornia'' species are native to North America, Europe, Central Asia, ...
'' Gutte & G.K.Müll. ex Freitag, M.Á.Alonso & M.B.Crespo *''
Salicornia decumbens ''Salicornia'' is a genus of succulent, halophytic (salt tolerant) flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae that grow in salt marshes, on beaches, and among mangroves. ''Salicornia'' species are native to North America, Europe, Central Asia, ...
'' (Toelken) Piirainen & G.Kadereit *'' Salicornia decussata'' (S.Steffen, Mucina & G.Kadereit) Piirainen & G.Kadereit *'' Salicornia disarticulata'' Moss *'' Salicornia dunensis'' (Moss ex Adamson) Piirainen & G.Kadereit *'' Salicornia erectispica'' G.L.Chu *''
Salicornia europaea ''Salicornia europaea'', known as common glasswort or just glasswort, is a halophytic annual dicot flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae. Glasswort is a succulent herb also known as ‘Pickle weed’ or ‘ Marsh samphire’. As a succule ...
'' L. *'' Salicornia fruticosa'' (L.) L. *'' Salicornia globosa'' (Paul G.Wilson) Piirainen & G.Kadereit *''
Salicornia helmutii ''Salicornia'' is a genus of succulent, halophytic (salt tolerant) flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae that grow in salt marshes, on beaches, and among mangroves. ''Salicornia'' species are native to North America, Europe, Central Asia, ...
'' Piirainen & G.Kadereit *''
Salicornia hispanica ''Salicornia'' is a genus of succulent, halophytic (salt tolerant) flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae that grow in salt marshes, on beaches, and among mangroves. ''Salicornia'' species are native to North America, Europe, Central Asia, ...
'' (Fuente, Rufo & Sánchez Mata) Piirainen & G.Kadereit *'' Salicornia lagascae'' (Fuente, Rufo & Sánchez Mata) Piirainen & G.Kadereit *'' Salicornia littorea'' (Moss) Piirainen & G.Kadereit *'' Salicornia magellanica'' Phil. *''
Salicornia maritima ''Salicornia maritima'', the sea glasswort, is a succulent, salt-tolerant plant found in New Brunswick and in Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easter ...
'' S.L.Wolff & Jefferies * ''Salicornia'' × ''marshallii'' (Lambinon & Vanderp.) Stace *'' Salicornia meyeriana'' Moss *'' Salicornia mossambicensis'' (Brenan) Piirainen & G.Kadereit *'' Salicornia mossiana'' (Toelken) Piirainen & G.Kadereit *''
Salicornia natalensis ''Salicornia'' is a genus of succulent, halophytic (salt tolerant) flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae that grow in salt marshes, on beaches, and among mangroves. ''Salicornia'' species are native to North America, Europe, Central Asia, ...
'' Bunge ex Ung.-Sternb. *'' Salicornia neei'' Lag. *'' Salicornia nitens'' P.W.Ball & Tutin *''
Salicornia obclavata ''Salicornia'' is a genus of succulent, halophytic (salt tolerant) flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae that grow in salt marshes, on beaches, and among mangroves. ''Salicornia'' species are native to North America, Europe, Central Asia, ...
'' (Yaprak) Piirainen & G.Kadereit *'' Salicornia obscura'' P.W.Ball & Tutin *'' Salicornia pachystachya'' Bunge ex Ung.-Sternb. *'' Salicornia pacifica'' Standl. *'' Salicornia perennans'' Willd. *'' Salicornia perennis'' Mill. *''
Salicornia perrieri ''Salicornia'' is a genus of succulent, halophytic (salt tolerant) flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae that grow in salt marshes, on beaches, and among mangroves. ''Salicornia'' species are native to North America, Europe, Central Asia, ...
'' A.Chev. *'' Salicornia persica'' Akhani *'' Salicornia perspolitana'' Akhani *'' Salicornia praecox'' A.Chev. *''
Salicornia procumbens ''Salicornia'' is a genus of succulent, halophytic (salt tolerant) flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae that grow in salt marshes, on beaches, and among mangroves. ''Salicornia'' species are native to North America, Europe, Central Asia, ...
'' Sm. *'' Salicornia pruinosa'' (Fuente, Rufo & Sánchez Mata) Piirainen & G.Kadereit *'' Salicornia pulvinata'' R.E.Fr. *''
Salicornia quinqueflora ''Salicornia quinqueflora'', synonym ''Sarcocornia quinqueflora'', commonly known as beaded samphire, bead weed, beaded glasswort or glasswort, is a species of succulent halophytic coastal shrub. It occurs in wetter coastal areas of Australia an ...
'' Bunge ex Ung.-Sternb. *''
Salicornia rubra ''Salicornia rubra'', the Rocky Mountain glasswort, is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaranthaceae. It is native to colder or higher areas of North America; the Yukon, Nunavut, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and O ...
'' A.Nelson *''
Salicornia senegalensis ''Salicornia'' is a genus of succulent, halophytic (salt tolerant) flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae that grow in salt marshes, on beaches, and among mangroves. ''Salicornia'' species are native to North America, Europe, Central Asia, ...
'' A.Chev. *'' Salicornia sinus-persica'' Akhani *''
Salicornia tegetaria ''Salicornia'' is a genus of succulent, halophytic (salt tolerant) flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae that grow in salt marshes, on beaches, and among mangroves. ''Salicornia'' species are native to North America, Europe, Central Asia, ...
'' (S.Steffen, Mucina & G.Kadereit) Piirainen & G.Kadereit *''
Salicornia terminalis ''Salicornia'' is a genus of succulent, halophytic (salt tolerant) flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae that grow in salt marshes, on beaches, and among mangroves. ''Salicornia'' species are native to North America, Europe, Central Asia, ...
'' (Toelken) Piirainen & G.Kadereit *'' Salicornia uniflora'' Toelken *'' Salicornia utahensis'' Tidestr. *'' Salicornia virginica'' L. *'' Salicornia xerophila'' (Toelken) Piirainen & G.Kadereit


Distribution and habitat

The species of ''Salicornia'' are widely distributed over the Northern Hemisphere and in southern Africa, ranging from the
subtropics The subtropical zones or subtropics are geographical and climate zones to the north and south of the tropics. Geographically part of the temperate zones of both hemispheres, they cover the middle latitudes from to approximately 35° north a ...
to subarctic regions. There is one species present in New Zealand but the genus is absent from Australia and South America. They grow in coastal salt marshes and in inland salty habitats like shores of salt lakes. ''Salicornia'' species are halophytes and can generally tolerate immersion in salt water (hygrohalophytes).


Ecology

''Salicornia'' species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the ''
Coleophora ''Coleophora'' is a very large genus of moths of the family Coleophoridae. It contains some 1,350 described species. The genus is represented on all continents, but the majority are found in the Nearctic and Palaearctic regions. Many authors ha ...
'' case-bearers ''C. atriplicis'' and ''C. salicorniae''; the latter feeds exclusively on ''Salicornia'' spp.


Uses


Culinary

''S. europaea'' is edible, either cooked or raw,"Salicornia"
, page of th
''Plants for a Future'' website
. Retrieved July 14, 2007.
as are '' S. rubra'' and ''S. depressa''. In England, ''S. europaea'' is one of several plants known as ''samphire'' (including
rock samphire ''Crithmum'' is a monospecific genus of flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, with the sole species ''Crithmum maritimum'', known as rock samphire, sea fennel or samphire. The name "samphire" is also used for several other unrela ...
); the term samphire is believed to be a corruption of the French name, '' erbe deSaint-Pierre'', which means "St. Peter's herb". In Hawaii, where it is known as 'sea asparagus', it is often blanched and used as a topping for salads or accompaniment for fish. In addition to ''S. europaea'', the seeds of '' S. bigelovii'' yield an edible oil. ''S. bigelovii'''s edibility is compromised somewhat because it contains saponins, which are toxic under certain conditions. Umari keerai is cooked and eaten or pickled. It is also used as fodder for cattle, sheep and goats.''Salicornia, oil-yielding plant for coastal belts'', The Hindu
/ref> In Kalpitiya, Sri Lanka, it is used to feed donkeys. On the east coast of Canada, the plant is known as 'samphire greens' and is a local delicacy. In
southeast Alaska Southeast Alaska, colloquially referred to as the Alaska(n) Panhandle, is the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Alaska, bordered to the east and north by the northern half of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province o ...
, it is known as beach asparagus. In Nova Scotia, Canada, they are known as crow's foot greens. In British Columbia, they are known as sea asparagus. In the United States, they are known as 'sea beans' when used for culinary purposes. Other names include sea green bean, sea pickle, and marsh samphire. In India, researchers at the Central Salt and Marine Chemicals Research Institute developed a process to yield culinary salt from ''S. brachiata.'' The resulting product is known as ''vegetable salt'' and sold under the brand name Saloni. Dehydrated, pulverized ''Salicornia'' is sold under the brand name "Green Salt" as a salt substitute claimed to be as salty in taste as table salt, but with less sodium.


Pharmacological research

In South Korea, Phyto Corporation has developed a technology of extracting low-sodium salt from ''S. europaea'', a salt-accumulating plant. The company claims that the naturally derived plant salt is effective in treating high blood pressure and fatty liver disease by reducing sodium intake. The company has also developed a desalted ''Salicornia'' powder containing
antioxidative Antioxidants are compounds that inhibit oxidation, a chemical reaction that can produce free radicals. This can lead to polymerization and other chain reactions. They are frequently added to industrial products, such as fuels and lubricants, ...
and antithrombus polyphenols, claimed to be effective in treating obesity and
arteriosclerosis Arteriosclerosis is the thickening, hardening, and loss of elasticity of the walls of arteries. This process gradually restricts the blood flow to one's organs and tissues and can lead to severe health risks brought on by atherosclerosis, which ...
, as well as providing a means to help resolve global food shortages.


Environmental uses

Pickleweed Pickleweed is a common name used for two unrelated genera of flowering plants: *'' Batis'', family Bataceae *''Salicornia ''Salicornia'' is a genus of succulent, halophytic (salt tolerant) flowering plants in the family Amaranthaceae that grow ...
is used in phytoextraction. It is highly effective at removing selenium from soil, which is absorbed by the plant and then released into the atmosphere to be dispersed by prevailing winds. Pickleweed (''S. bigelovii'') has been found to have average volatilization rates 10–100 times higher than other species.


Industrial use


Historical

The ashes of
glasswort The glassworts are various succulent, annual halophytic plants, that is, plants that thrive in saline environments, such as seacoasts and salt marshes. The original English glasswort plants belong to the genus '' Salicornia'', but today the gla ...
and
saltwort Saltwort is a common name for various genera of flowering plants that thrive in salty environments, typically in coastal salt marshes and seashores, including: :*''Salsola'' and related genera within subfamily ''Salsoloideae'' :*''Salicornia'' :*'' ...
plants and of
kelp Kelps are large brown algae seaweeds that make up the order Laminariales. There are about 30 different genera. Despite its appearance, kelp is not a plant - it is a heterokont, a completely unrelated group of organisms. Kelp grows in "underwat ...
were long used as a source of soda ash (mainly sodium carbonate) for glassmaking and soapmaking. The introduction of the
LeBlanc process The Leblanc process (pronounced leh-blaank) was an early industrial process for making ''soda ash'' ( sodium carbonate) used throughout the 19th century, named after its inventor, Nicolas Leblanc. It involved two stages: making sodium sulfate f ...
for industrial production of soda ash superseded the use of plant sources in the first half of the 19th century. Umari keerai is used as raw material in paper and board factories.


Contemporary

Because ''S. bigelovii'' can be grown using saltwater and its seeds contain high levels of unsaturated
oil An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturated ...
(30 wt. %, mostly
linoleic acid Linoleic acid (LA) is an organic compound with the formula COOH(CH2)7CH=CHCH2CH=CH(CH2)4CH3. Both alkene groups are ''cis''. It is a fatty acid sometimes denoted 18:2 (n-6) or 18:2 ''cis''-9,12. A linoleate is a salt or ester of this acid. L ...
) and protein (35 wt. %), it can be used to produce animal feedstuff and as a biofuel feedstock on coastal land where conventional crops cannot be grown. Adding nitrogen-based fertiliser to the seawater appears to increase the rate of growth and the eventual height of the plant, and the effluent from marine
aquaculture Aquaculture (less commonly spelled aquiculture), also known as aquafarming, is the controlled cultivation ("farming") of aquatic organisms such as fish, crustaceans, mollusks, algae and other organisms of value such as aquatic plants (e.g. lot ...
(e.g.
shrimp farm Shrimp farming is an aquaculture business that exists in either a marine or freshwater environment, producing shrimp or prawns (crustaceans of the groups Caridea or Dendrobranchiata) for human consumption. Marine Commercial marine shrimp farmin ...
ing) is a suggested use for this purpose. Experimental fields of ''Salicornia'' have been planted in Ras al-Zawr ( Saudi Arabia), Eritrea (northeast Africa) and Sonora (northwest Mexico) aimed at the production of
biodiesel Biodiesel is a form of diesel fuel derived from plants or animals and consisting of long-chain fatty acid esters. It is typically made by chemically reacting lipids such as animal fat (tallow), soybean oil, or some other vegetable oil wit ...
. The company responsible for the Sonora trials
Global Seawater
claims between 225 and 250
gallon The gallon is a unit of volume in imperial units and United States customary units. Three different versions are in current use: *the imperial gallon (imp gal), defined as , which is or was used in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Austra ...
s of BQ-9000 biodiesel can be produced per hectare (approximately 2.5 acres) of salicornia, and is promoting a $35 million scheme to create a salicornia farm in
Bahia de Kino Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest by ...
. Stems and roots of ''S. brachiata'' plants have a high
cellulose Cellulose is an organic compound with the formula , a polysaccharide consisting of a linear chain of several hundred to many thousands of β(1→4) linked D-glucose units. Cellulose is an important structural component of the primary cell wall ...
content (ca. 30 wt. %), whereas tender stem tips exhibit a low cellulose content (9.2 wt. %). ''S. brachiata'' revealed the dominance of
rhamnose Rhamnose (Rha, Rham) is a naturally occurring deoxy sugar. It can be classified as either a methyl-pentose or a 6-deoxy-hexose. Rhamnose predominantly occurs in nature in its L-form as L-rhamnose (6-deoxy-L-mannose). This is unusual, since most o ...
,
arabinose Arabinose is an aldopentose – a monosaccharide containing five carbon atoms, and including an aldehyde (CHO) functional group. For biosynthetic reasons, most saccharides are almost always more abundant in nature as the "D"-form, or structural ...
,
mannose Mannose is a sugar monomer of the aldohexose series of carbohydrates. It is a C-2 epimer of glucose. Mannose is important in human metabolism, especially in the glycosylation of certain proteins. Several congenital disorders of glycosylat ...
,
galactose Galactose (, '' galacto-'' + ''-ose'', "milk sugar"), sometimes abbreviated Gal, is a monosaccharide sugar that is about as sweet as glucose, and about 65% as sweet as sucrose. It is an aldohexose and a C-4 epimer of glucose. A galactose molec ...
, and glucose, with meager presence of ribose and xylose in their structural polysaccharide.


See also

*
Arid Forest Research Institute Arid Forest Research Institute (AFRI) is a research institute situated in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, India. The institute conducts scientific research in forestry in order to provide technologies to increase the vegetative cover and to conserve biod ...
* Batis


References


External links

* *
BBC Gardener's Question Time
- where there is apparently some confusion between the
glasswort The glassworts are various succulent, annual halophytic plants, that is, plants that thrive in saline environments, such as seacoasts and salt marshes. The original English glasswort plants belong to the genus '' Salicornia'', but today the gla ...
(marsh
samphire Samphire is a name given to a number of succulent salt-tolerant plants (halophytes) that tend to be associated with water bodies. *Rock samphire, ''Crithmum maritimum'' is a coastal species with white flowers that grows in Ireland, the Unit ...
, found in Suffolk) and the
rock samphire ''Crithmum'' is a monospecific genus of flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, with the sole species ''Crithmum maritimum'', known as rock samphire, sea fennel or samphire. The name "samphire" is also used for several other unrela ...
(found in Dorset).
BBC Good Food Channel
- recipes for both marsh
samphire Samphire is a name given to a number of succulent salt-tolerant plants (halophytes) that tend to be associated with water bodies. *Rock samphire, ''Crithmum maritimum'' is a coastal species with white flowers that grows in Ireland, the Unit ...
and
rock samphire ''Crithmum'' is a monospecific genus of flowering plant in the carrot family Apiaceae, with the sole species ''Crithmum maritimum'', known as rock samphire, sea fennel or samphire. The name "samphire" is also used for several other unrela ...
.
Biff Vernon
discusses the common confusion between marsh samphire and rock samphire, and reproduces a poem on the subject by William Logan.
Robert Freedman

Reforma journal
small article about experimental biodiesel fields in Sonora, Mexico

running a seawater farm in Eritrea with Salicornia to produce oil, food and store carbon dioxide {{Taxonbar, from=Q159525 Halophytes Salt marsh plants Amaranthaceae genera Barilla plants