Samphire

2 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Samphire \Sam"phire\ (? or ?; 277), n. [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.
         [1913 Webster]


  
               Hangs one that gathers samphire, dreadful trade!
                                                    --Shak.
         [1913 Webster]
     (b) The species of glasswort ({Salicornia herbacea}); --
         called in England {marsh samphire}.
     (c) A seashore shrub ({Borrichia arborescens}) of the West
         Indies.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     {Golden samphire}. See under {Golden}.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  samphire
       n : fleshy maritime plant having fleshy stems with rudimentary
           scalelike leaves and small spikes of minute flowers;
           formerly used in making glass [syn: {glasswort}, {Salicornia
           europaea}]