Difference between revisions of "Rock samphire"

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:''For other uses of the name samphire, see [[Samphire]]''
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__NOTOC__{{Plantbox
{{Taxobox
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| name = ''Crithmum maritimum''
| color = lightgreen
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| common_names = Samphire, Sea-fennel, Parsley-pert, St. Peter's herb
| name = Rock samphire
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| growth_habit = ?  <!--- tree, shrub, herbaceous, vine, etc -->
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
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| high = ?  <!--- 1m (3 ft) -->
| phylum= [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
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| wide =    <!--- 65cm (25 inches) -->
| classis = [[Dicotyledon|Magnoliopsida]]
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| origin = ?  <!--- Mexico, S America, S Europe, garden, etc -->
| ordo = [[Apiales]]
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| poisonous =    <!--- indicate parts of plants which are known/thought to be poisonous -->
| familia = [[Apiaceae]]
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| lifespan = perennial
| genus = '''''Crithmum'''''
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| exposure = ?  <!--- full sun, part-sun, semi-shade, shade, indoors, bright filtered (you may list more than 1) -->
| species = '''''C. maritimum'''''
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| water = ?  <!--- frequent, regular, moderate, drought tolerant, let dry then soak -->
| binomial = ''Crithmum maritimum''
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| features =    <!--- flowers, fragrance, fruit, naturalizes, invasive -->
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L]].
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| hardiness =    <!--- frost sensitive, hardy, 5°C (40°F), etc -->
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| bloom =    <!--- seasons which the plant blooms, if it is grown for its flowers -->
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| usda_zones = ?  <!--- eg. 8-11 -->
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| sunset_zones =    <!--- eg. 8, 9, 12-24, not available -->
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| color = IndianRed
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| image = Upload.png  <!--- Freesia.jpg -->
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| image_width = 240px    <!--- leave as 240px if horizontal orientation photo, or change to 180px if vertical -->
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| image_caption =    <!--- eg. Cultivated freesias -->
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| regnum = Plantae
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| phylum= Magnoliophyta
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| classis = Magnoliopsida
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| ordo = Apiales
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| familia = Apiaceae
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| genus = Crithmum
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| species = maritimum
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| subspecies =  
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| cultivar =  
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}}
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{{Inc|
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Samphire (Crithmum maritimum, which see) is the name corrupted from sampier, itself a corruption of the French Saint Pierre (St. Peter), given to a succulent-stemmed half-hardy perennial, well known as sea-fennel, parsley-pert, and St. Peter's herb upon rocky coasts above high tide in Great Britain. It belongs to the family Umbelliferae. The plants, which attain a height of 1 to 2 feet, have somewhat linear glaucous-green fleshy leaves, 1/2 inch long, small white or yellowish flowers, which appear in umbels during July, and oblong yellowish fennel-like smallish seeds of light weight, which ripen in early autumn and lose their germinating power within a year. For more than three centuries the crisp and aromatic leaves and young stems gathered in August or September have been used in salads and vinegar pickles. Samphire rarely reaches perfection in gardens far from the seacoast, unless grown upon sandy or gravelly soil, and watered frequently and plentifully with weak salt- and soda-solutions. It may be propagated by root-division, but better by sowing the seed as soon as ripe, the plants being thinned to stand from 1 to 1 1/2 feet asunder in rows 2 to 2 1/2 feet apart.{{SCH}}
 
}}
 
}}
  
'''Samphire''', or '''rock samphire''' (''Crithmum maritimum''), the sole species of the genus ''Crithmum'', is an edible wild plant found in coastal regions of mainland [[Great Britain]]. The term '''[[samphire]]''' is used for several unrelated species of coastal plant.
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For other plants with the name Samphire, see [[Samphire]].
  
In [[King Lear]], [[Shakespeare]] refers to the dangerous practice of collecting rock samphire from cliffs. ''"Half-way down, Hangs one that gathers samphire; dreadful trade!"''
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==Cultivation==
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{{edit-cult}}<!--- Type cultivation info below this line, then delete this entire line -->
  
== Culinary Use ==
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===Propagation===
''It is not certain whether the following information refers to the rock samphire or the marsh samphire ([[glasswort]]).''
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{{edit-prop}}<!--- Type propagation info below this line, then delete this entire line -->
  
Samphire has fleshy, divided [[Aroma compound|aromatic]] [[leaf|leaves]] that have long been regarded as a delicacy in [[Norfolk]] and [[Lancashire]]. In former times, samphire was prepared as a pickle, but is now appearing as a garnish in [[London]] restaurants.
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===Pests and diseases===
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{{edit-pests}}<!--- Type pest/disease info below this line, then delete this entire line -->
  
To prepare it for the table, samphire is trimmed of its hard root, washed and plunged into boiling water for a few minutes. It is often served with a mixture of [[butter]] and [[vinegar]] but also with butter alone. It is also delicious in Risotto (e.g. [[Rick Stein]]'s Shrimp and Samphire Risotto).
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==Species==
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<!--  This section should be renamed Cultivars if it appears on a page for a species (rather than genus), or perhaps Varieties if there is a mix of cultivars, species, hybrids, etc    -->
  
The flavour is highly reminiscent of [[asparagus]], and samphire is sometimes referred to as "poor man's asparagus" (although that name has also been applied to [[Good King Henry]], [[Hop (plant)|Hop]] shoots as well as the [[Leek (vegetable)|leek]]).
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==Gallery==
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{{photo-sources}}<!-- remove this line if there are already 3 or more photos in the gallery  -->
  
== Sources ==
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<gallery>
* http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/shrimpandsamphireris_3208.shtml
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Image:Upload.png| photo 1
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/gqt/samphire.shtml BBC Gardener's Question Time] - where there is apparently some confusion between the [[glasswort]] (marsh samphire, found in Suffolk) and the rock samphire (found in Dorset).
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Image:Upload.png| photo 2
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Image:Upload.png| photo 3
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</gallery>
  
* [http://www.biffvernon.freeserve.co.uk/samphire.htm Biff Vernon] discusses the common confusion between marsh samphire and rock samphire, and reproduces a poem on the subject by [[William Logan (poet)|William Logan]].
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==References==
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*[[Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture]], by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
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<!--- xxxxx  *Flora: The Gardener's Bible, by Sean Hogan. Global Book Publishing, 2003. ISBN 0881925381  -->
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<!--- xxxxx  *American Horticultural Society: A-Z Encyclopedia of Garden Plants, by Christopher Brickell, Judith D. Zuk. 1996. ISBN 0789419432  -->
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<!--- xxxxx  *Sunset National Garden Book. Sunset Books, Inc., 1997. ISBN 0376038608  -->
  
* [http://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/s/samphi10.html Botanical.com]
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==External links==
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*{{wplink}}
  
* [http://www.riverhouse.com.au/factsheets/rock_samphire.html Riverhouse]
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{{stub}}
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[[Category:Categorize]]
  
[[Category:Apiaceae]]
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<!--  in order to add all the proper categories, go to http://www.plants.am/wiki/Plant_Categories and copy/paste the contents of the page here, and then follow the easy instructions!    -->
[[Category:Leaf vegetables]]
 
[[Category:Stem vegetables]]
 
[[Category:Halophytes and salt tolerant plants]]
 

Latest revision as of 19:03, 7 May 2009


Upload.png


Plant Characteristics
Lifespan: perennial
Origin: ?
Cultivation
Exposure: ?"?" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property.
Water: ?"?" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property.
Scientific Names

Apiaceae >

Crithmum >

maritimum >



Read about Rock samphire in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture 

Samphire (Crithmum maritimum, which see) is the name corrupted from sampier, itself a corruption of the French Saint Pierre (St. Peter), given to a succulent-stemmed half-hardy perennial, well known as sea-fennel, parsley-pert, and St. Peter's herb upon rocky coasts above high tide in Great Britain. It belongs to the family Umbelliferae. The plants, which attain a height of 1 to 2 feet, have somewhat linear glaucous-green fleshy leaves, 1/2 inch long, small white or yellowish flowers, which appear in umbels during July, and oblong yellowish fennel-like smallish seeds of light weight, which ripen in early autumn and lose their germinating power within a year. For more than three centuries the crisp and aromatic leaves and young stems gathered in August or September have been used in salads and vinegar pickles. Samphire rarely reaches perfection in gardens far from the seacoast, unless grown upon sandy or gravelly soil, and watered frequently and plentifully with weak salt- and soda-solutions. It may be propagated by root-division, but better by sowing the seed as soon as ripe, the plants being thinned to stand from 1 to 1 1/2 feet asunder in rows 2 to 2 1/2 feet apart.CH


The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.


For other plants with the name Samphire, see Samphire.

Cultivation

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Propagation

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Pests and diseases

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Species

Gallery

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References

External links