SAMPHIRE. GLASSWORT.
Salicornia ambigua, Michx. Goosefoot Family.
Hab.—The Coast, from San Francisco to Oregon.
Ye marshes, how candid and simple, and nothing withholding and free, Ye publish yourselves to the sky, and offer yourselves to the sea; Tolerant plains that suffer the sea and the rains and the sun, Ye spread and span, like the catholic man who hath mightily won God out of knowledge, and good out of infinite pain, And sight out of blindness, and purity out of a stain.
—Sidney Lanier.
Though a humble enough plant in itself, the samphire, or glasswort, is the source of a wonderful glory in our marshes in the autumn. Great stretches of tide-land not already pre-empted by the tule are covered by it, showing the most gorgeous blendings of crimson, purple, olives, and bronzes, which, seen with all the added charm of shifting and changing atmospheric effects, far outrival any Oriental rug that could be conceived of.
This plant is easily known by its succulent branching, leafless stems and from the fact that it does not grow outside of the salt marshes. Its flowering is obscure, and all that can be seen is a few small stamens just protruding from the surface of the fleshy spike, which appears much like any of the other branches, the flowers being sunk in it.
The generic name is derived from two Latin words—sal, salt, and cornu, a horn—and conveys the idea of saline plants with hornlike branches. The English name, "samphire," is of French derivation, and comes originally from the old "l'herbe de Saint Pierre," formerly having been written "sampêtra" and "sampire." In Great Britain this plant is usually designated as "marsh samphire," to distinguish it from the ordinary samphire, which is a plant of the genus Crithmum.
This plant is much relished by cattle, and in England it is made into a pickle, while on the continent it is used as a pot-herb. Formerly, in Europe, it was burned in large quantities for the soda contained in its ashes.