Salicornia
869373
225087090
2008-07-11T20:31:42Z
216.16.224.222
{{Taxobox
| name = ''Salicornia''
| image = Glasswort.jpg
| image_width = 180px
| image_caption = ''Salicornia europaea''
| regnum = [[Plant]]ae
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Caryophyllales]]
| familia = [[Amaranthaceae]]
| subfamilia = [[Salicornioideae]]
| genus = '''''Salicornia''''' L.
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
See text.
}}
'''Salicornia''' is a [[genus]] of [[succulent]], [[halophyte|salt tolerant]] [[plant]]s that grow in [[salt marsh]]es, on [[beach]]es, and among [[mangrove]]s. ''Salicornia'' species are native to the [[United States]], [[Europe]] and [[South Asia]]. Common names for the genus include '''[[glasswort]]''', '''[[pickleweed]]''', and '''marsh [[samphire]]'''; these common names are also used for some species not in ''Salicornia''.<ref>
[http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=20646 ''Salicornia''], [[Integrated Taxonomic Information System]], serial number 20646.</ref>
[[Image:Glasswort Salicornia virginica.jpg|thumb|left|200px|''Salicornia virginica'']]
[[Image:Salicornia_virginica.jpg|thumb|left|200px|''Salicornia virginica'']]
== Botanical ==
The ''Salicornia'' species are small, usually less than 30 cm tall, succulent [[herb]]s with a jointed horizontal main stem and erect lateral branches. The [[Leaf|leaves]] are small and scale-like and as such the plant may appear leafless. Many species are green, but their foliage turns red in autumn. The hermaphrodite [[flower]]s are wind pollinated, and the [[fruit]] is small and succulent and contains a single seed.<ref name=Eflora>Ball, Peter W. (2004). "[http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=129055 ''Salicornia'' L.]," in ''Flora of North America: North of Mexico [http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=129055 Volume 4: Magnoliophyta: Caryophyllidae, part 1]'', Editorial Committee of the ''Flora of North America'' (Oxford University Press, 2004). ISBN 978-0195173895. Online versions retrieved July 14, 2007.</ref>
''Salicornia'' species can generally tolerate immersion in salt water. They use the [[C4 carbon fixation|c4 pathway]] to take in carbon dioxide from the surrounding atmosphere.
''Salicornia'' species are used as food plants by the [[larva]]e of some [[Lepidoptera]] species including the ''[[Coleophora]]'' case-bearers ''C. atriplicis'' and ''C. salicorniae'' (the latter feeds exclusively on ''Salicornia spp'').
==Species==
Nearly 60 species have been proposed for ''Salicornia.''<ref name="GBIF">[[Global Biodiversity Information Facility]] (2007). [http://www.secretariat.gbif.net/portal/ecat_browser.jsp?taxonKey=244865 "Salicornia"] webpage retrieved July 14, 2007.</ref>
Some common species are:
*American, Virginia or Woody Glasswort, ''[[Salicornia virginica]]''
*Common Glasswort, ''[[Salicornia europea]]''
*Slender Glasswort, ''[[Salicornia maritima]]''
*Dwarf Glasswort, ''[[Salicornia bigelovii]]''
*Perennial Glasswort, ''Salicornia perennis'' (see ''[[Sarcocornia]] perennis'')
*Purple Glasswort, ''[[Salicornia ramosissima]]''
*Umari Keerai, ''[[Salicornia brachiata]]''
== Culinary ==
''Salicornia europaea'' is highly edible, either cooked or raw.<ref name="PFAF">[http://www.pfaf.org/database/search_name.php?ALLNAMES=salicornia "Salicornia"], page of the [http://www.pfaf.org/ ''Plants for a Future'' website]. Retrieved July 14, 2007.</ref> In England it is one of several plants known as '''samphire''' (see also [[Rock samphire]]); the term samphire is believed to be a corruption of the French name, ''herbe de Saint-Pierre'', which means "St. Peter's Herb."<ref>Davidson, Alan (2002). ''The Penguin Companion To Food'' (Penguin), p. 828. ISBN 978-0142001639.</ref> In the United States the edible species are known as '''sea beans'''.<ref>McGee, Harold (2004). ''On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen, Completely Revised and Updated'' (Scribner, New York), p. 317. ISBN 978-0684800011.</ref>
Samphire is usually cooked, either [[steamed]] or [[microwave oven|microwaved]], and then coated in butter. After cooking, it resembles seaweed in colour, and the flavour and texture are like young spinach stems or asparagus, and despite its texture when raw, after cooking is not at all stringy or tough. Samphire is very often used as a suitably maritime accompaniment to fish or [[seafood]].
In addition to ''Salicornia europaea'', the seeds of ''Salicornia bigelovii'' yield a highly edible oil. ''Salicornia bigelovii's'' edibility is compromised somewhat because it contains [[saponins]], which are toxic under certain conditions.<ref name="PFAF" />
Umari keerai is cooked and eaten or pickled. It is also used as fodder for cattle, sheep and goats.<ref name="Hindu">[http://www.hindu.com/seta/2003/09/05/stories/2003090500300300.htm ''Salicornia, oil-yielding plant for coastal belts'', The Hindu]</ref> In [[Kalpitiya]], [[Sri Lanka]], it is used to feed donkeys.
== Industrial use (historical) ==
{{see also|Soda ash|Barilla}}
The ashes of [[glasswort]] and [[saltwort]] plants and of [[kelp]] were long used as a source of soda ash (mainly [[Sodium carbonate]]) for [[glass]]making and soapmaking. The introduction of the [[LeBlanc process]] for industrial production of soda ash superseded the use of plant sources in the first half of the 19th Century.
Umari keerai is used as raw material in paper and board factories. <ref name="Hindu" />
== Industrial use (contemporary) ==
{{see also|biodiesel}}
There are experimental fields of Salicornia in Eritrea, Africa and Sonora, Mexico aimed at the production of biodiesel. The Arizona company [http://www.globalseawater.com Global Seawater] currently explores the economic feasibility in a 800 acre field at the Sonora desert.
== Sources ==
{{Commons|Category:Amaranthaceae|Amaranthaceae}}
<references/>
[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).
[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]].
[http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/FamineFoods/ff_families/chenopodiaceae.html Robert Freedman]
[http://www.reforma.com/negocios/articulo/433/865830/?grcidorigen=1 Reforma journal] small article about experimental biodiesel fields in Sonora, Mexico
Lists 'Famine Foods', including ''Umari Keerai'' (Salicornia brachiata).
[[Category:Caryophyllaceae]]
[[Category:Halophytes and salt tolerant plants]]
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[[fr:Salicorne]]
[[hsb:Selorodźenc]]
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[[pt:Salicornia]]