Identifying Beaded Samphire (Salicornia quinqueflora)

Take great care when identifying wild plants and fungi, this blog is not a resource to be taken by itself and further resources will be linked. Consult other sources and double check. While foraging is an extremely rewarding and useful skill, numerous common plants and fungi can make you sick or kill you. Be absolutely sure of what you’re eating and, when gathering, ensure you leave enough not only to ensure the survival and growth of the species but also enough for others to enjoy, from the human and more-than-human communities. Also cultivate an awareness of contamination and pollution – wastewater runoff, spraying, exhaust fumes – as this should affect your decision to harvest.

The Plant

Salicornia quinqueflora is a halophytic (salt-tolerant) succulent shrub from the Amaranthaceae family. It can be found along rocky salty coastlines along New Zealand and Australia, generally just above the high tide mark. The name Samphire comes from the French “Saint Pierre” who was the patron saint of fishermen as samphire grows along the coast and “beaded” refers to the lumpy “beads” that make up the plant stems. Samphire is also known as “glasswort”, so called because glassmakers would burn salty coastal plants to use the ashes to produce clearer and better quality glass. Salicornia comes from the Latin word for “salt” and quinqueflora comes from the Latin word “quinque” meaning “five”. Beaded samphire is called “ureure” in Māori.

Description

Beaded samphire is a perennial succulent shrub found growing sprawling and matted along the ground around rocky coasts and seashores. The stems are jointed/beaded and are a green or grey with sometimes orange colouring along the base or on the tips and grow up to 30cm tall. The small bulbous leaves grow upright and opposite one another along the stem. At the end of the stem is where samphire flowers grow in cymes (a group of flowers connected to one stem), they are generally hermaphroditic. The seeds are vertical and circular, light brown, and hairy. As samphire gets older it gets woodier and you can often see a lot of dead plant material underneath the growing samphire.

Ecology

I have come across Salicornia quinqueflora along most coasts in the North Island of New Zealand and can be found on the East Coast but not the West Coast in the South Island. It grows best in salty sandy soil, sand, rock, or mud near the ocean. Beaded samphire produces flowers in the summertime and bees have been seen pollinating them. They often reproduce clonally using ramets (reproducing identical copies of healthy plants) or if conditions are right they will produce genets (genetically unique seeds to keep the population strong). When harvesting take the fresh, young tips of the samphire plant as it can get woody lower down.

Nutritional & Medicinal Information

Beaded samphire is rich in iodine, calcium, and iron as well as being high in vitamin C and vitamin A.

Samphire contains 7% sodium per 100g compared to 35% sodium per 100g of table salt, so it could be useful as a flavouring additive to meals if you want to reduce your sodium intake.

Salicornia quinqueflora contains compounds which can help with hypertension, macular degeneration, inflammation, and anxiety. It has also been found to help with flatulence and digestion.

Possible Lookalikes

Beaded samphire looks similar to most other samphires/glassworts which generally also edible. Just identify correctly before eating.

Interesting Facts

Samphire is also referred to as “poor man’s asparagus”.

The ash made from burning samphire is high in potassium carbonate which is great for glassmaking and the sodium carbonate component of the ash is still used in soap making today.

Some types of glasswort turn orange in the autumn months.

Storage & Cooking

The young samphire tips are best eaten fresh or pickled. The add a salty flavour to pastas, seafood dishes, soups, steamed as a side, sautéed, or raw in salads.

Enjoy my fellow foragers!

Further Reading

iNaturalist

Shore Birds