samphire Meaning, Definition & Usage

noun fleshy maritime plant having fleshy stems with rudimentary scalelike leaves and small spikes of minute flowers; formerly used in making glass
Salicornia europaea; glasswort.

F. l'herbe de Saint Pierre. See Saint, and Petrel.

(Bot.) (a) A fleshy, suffrutescent, umbelliferous European plant (Crithmum maritimum). It grows among rocks and on cliffs along the seacoast, and is used for pickles.
Hangs one that gathers samphire, dreadful trade! Scak.
(b) The species of glasswort (Salicornia herbacea); -- called in England marsh samphire. (c) A seashore shrub (Borrichia arborescens) of the West Indies.