Native Samphire/Glasswort

Sarcocornia quinqueflora & Tecticornia species.

Native samphire in a mangrove tidal flat, Sydney Bicentennial Park. © JPM, 2022.

Salty, sweet and a little bit crunchy. That's the samphire way!

Names

Samphire is a reasonably well-known coastal and saline-loving plant hailing from the genuses Sarcocornia (S.) and Tecticornia (T.). While there are a number of native species and subspecies, only two are particularly prominent. S. quinqueflora is otherwise known as native samphire or beaded glasswort, while a larger inland species, T. indica, is also known as brown-headed samphire.

The common English samphire species, S. stricta, to which the Australian specimens are closely related, will not be covered here.

Habitat and Range

The two main species of native samphire occupy contrasting ranges similar to various species of tetragon (warrigal), covered previously. Because samphire is a halophyte (salt-tolerant), it can be found around the majority of the Australian coastline. Beaded glasswort, S. quinqueflora, is typically found south of the Tropic of Capricorn on all the eastern, southern and western coastlines. Look for it at the tidal waterline in mangroves, on tidal rock ledges or rock pools, beach fronts and estuary regions. Brown-headed samphire, T. indica, is a typically larger plant found in saline inland regions, especially the Murray-Darling river basin, Lake Eyre and surrounds, parts of the Western Desert and WA's southern wheatbelt region, and the tropical coastline north of South-eastern Queensland, the Northern Territory, northern Western Australia, and much of the South Australian coastline.

Figure 1. Distribution of Sarcocornia (native samphire or beaded glasswort) across the continent. Atlas of Living Australia.

Figure 2. Distribution of Tecticornia (brown-headed samphire) across the continent. Atlas of Living Australia.

Identification

Key Identifying Features

• Leafless!

• Stubby and segmented pine-needle-like stems, coloured green, reddish or pinkish, usually 5-15 cm (up to 200 cm for brown-headed glasswort)

• Tiny yellow or white flowers that appear upon rings around the top of the stems

• Grow exclusively in salty environments: mangroves, salt flats, clay pans, beaches and estuaries.

• Dead, dried-out stems may resemble dead or dried out Casurina or pine needles.

Samphire is a very simple plant. It has no leaves to describe and exists only as stubby, segmented stems, similar somewhat to fat pine needles. It is usually green, but some subspecies may tinge with red or pink.

Figure 3. Segmented stems of native samphire (S. quinqueflora) dangling from a sea cliff. The Grotto, VIC. © JPM, 2022.

Figure 4. The pine-needle-like segmented stem of native samphire (S. quinqueflora). Bicentennial Park, Sydney. © JPM, 2022.

Figure 5. The segmented stems of brown-headed samphire, T. indica. Atlas of Living Australia. © G. Sinclair, 2022.

Samphire is a flowering plant. The flowers are miniscule, less than 1mm in size, and appear on rings at the tips of new growth which is slightly fatter than the main stems they branch from.

Figure 6. Pale yellow native samphire (S. quinqueflora) flowers. Note the 'rings' upon which the flowers emerge. Atlas of Living Australia. © M. Fagg, 2018.

Figure 7. White flowers of brown-headed samphire (T. indica). Atlas of Living Australia. © G. & M. Goods, 2018.

Culinary Uses

Native samphire tastes like a salty version of asparagus, making it an ideal, if meagre, substitute for that vegetable. Traditionally it is pickled and served as garnish, hors d'oeuvre or vegetable side dish. They would probably cook well in stir fries, soups and stews to add texture and saltiness. Samphire also goes well with high-fat dishes such as grilled meat, oily fish (mackerel, salmon, etc) and creamy pasta dishes.

The woody cores of older stems can prove bothersome. New, young shoots have a more rubbery, chewable core which is less of an issue and should be preferred. Samphire has always been a last-resort survival food due to its low carbohydrate loads, although it does provide an important source of essential nutrient salts (sodium, magnesium, manganese, iron, calcium, iodine) and vitamin C in what can be otherwise inhospitable beach, desert salt-pan or clay-pan conditions where they tend to thrive.

With any luck, samphire will make a comeback as an interesting salty pickle for gourmet sandwiches and burgers. Or maybe I can keep dreaming!

Figure 8. Core inside a young, chewed native samphire stem. Bicentennial Park, Sydney. © JPM, 2022.