samphire

American  

[sam-fahy^uhr] / ˈsæm faɪər /

noun

1. a European succulent plant, Crithmum maritimum, of the parsley family, having compound leaves and small, whitish flowers, growing in clefts of rock near the sea.

2. glasswort.

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samphire British  

/ ˈsæmˌfaɪə /

noun

1. Also called: rock samphire.  an umbelliferous plant, Crithmum maritimum, of Eurasian coasts, having fleshy divided leaves and clusters of small greenish-white flowers

2. a Eurasian coastal plant, Inula crithmoides, with fleshy leaves and yellow flower heads: family Asteraceae (composites)

3. another name for glasswort

4. any of several other plants of coastal areas

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Etymology

Origin of samphire

1535–45; earlier sampiere < Middle French ( herbe de ) Saint Pierre (herb of ) Saint Peter

Example Sentences

Top one part Pentire Adrift's green and bitter samphire and sharp sea salt, with three parts Something & Nothing's sunshine-in-a-can Yuzu Seltzer, for a perfect day at the beach in a glass.

From Salon

“Aunt March is a regular samphire, is she not?” observed Amy, tasting her mixture critically.

From Literature

They said specific vegetation on the Gower Peninsula created meat with a flavour of samphire and sea lavender.

From BBC

Sea beans — a thin, dark green, crunchy succulent foraged at the shore — also go by salicornia, samphire, glasswort and in France, where they are more commonly served than in the United States, salicornes.

From New York Times

They go on fishing expeditions together, to dig for clams or to gather samphire in the river estuary.

From The Guardian