samphire

UK: /ˈsæmˌfaɪə/ US: (sam′fī^ər)

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

sam•phire  (sam′fī^ər), n. 

1. Plant Biology a European succulent plant, Crithmum maritimum, of the parsley family, having compound leaves and small, whitish flowers, growing in clefts of rock near the sea.
2. Plant Biology glasswort.

• Middle French (herbe de) Saint Pierre (herb of ) Saint Peter
• earlier sampiere 1535–45

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

samphire / ˈsæmˌfaɪə/, sampire / ˈsæmpaɪə/ noun

1. Also called: rock samphire an umbelliferous plant, Crithmum maritimum, of Eurasian coasts, having fleshy divided leaves and clusters of small greenish-white flowers
2. golden samphire ⇒ a Eurasian coastal plant, Inula crithmoides, with fleshy leaves and yellow flower heads: family Asteraceae (composites)
3. another name for glasswort1
4. any of several other plants of coastal areas

Etymology: 16th Century sampiere, from French herbe de Saint Pierre Saint Peter's herb; perhaps influenced by camphire camphor