Salicornia, Sea Bean

Also glasswort, poussepied and poussepierre, marsh samphire or samphire, chicken claws, sea pickle, pickleweed

The name game begins neatly enough and winds up in a pretty pickle. Salicornia, meaning salty horn, is both the common and the Latin name of the plant pictured, an apt description of its pointy saline “twigs” (less pronounced in this cultivated specimen than in the wild). Glasswort (glass plant) originated with a related species that was used in the manufacture of glass. Sea bean, a recent name used in marketing the plant, is not far-fetched. Chicken claws makes reference to the birdlike form of the jointed branchlets.