Samphire

Growth habit

Herbaceous

Perennation

Cultivated as annual

Native distribution

Mediterranean to Uk

Biocultural value

It was popular in Elizabethan times, used fresh in salads or pickled.

Location

Robison Herb Garden

Source of plant

Unknown

Description

Collected as a leaf vegetable from the wild (Italy, Greek, e.g.) and occasionally cultivated for this purpose in Italy, France, and the USA. In the 17th cent. also grown in England. The fleshy leaves, rich in vitamin C, are eaten raw in salads, formerly also pickled as spice and used as remedy against scurvy.

USDA Hardiness Zone

7

Special characteristics

tender perennial, food