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Harmless🍽️ Edible

🌿 Rock samphire (sea fennel)

Crithmum maritimum · Apiaceae

🐚 Coastline🫒 Mediterranean
🧠 To remember it“True rock samphire grows on rocks, not in the mud” - the rocky, spray-swept habitat is your primary safety criterion against toxic umbellifers.
Rock samphire (sea fennel) — Crithmum maritimum

🔍 Identify it without mistakes

Bushy perennial plant with fleshy leaves, divided into thick, pointed segments of a glossy blue-green color, releasing a strong aromatic scent when crushed. Small yellow-green flowers in umbels, typically growing on rocks and cliffs battered by sea spray.

  1. fleshy blue-green leaves, divided into thick, pointed segments
  2. strong, distinctive aromatic scent when crushed
  3. grows anchored in coastal rock and cliff crevices, tolerates direct sea spray
Size20-50 cm
FloweringJuly-September
Habitatcliffs and rocks along the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Black Sea coasts, British Isles to Macaronesia and North Africa

⚠️ Not to be confused with

Other coastal Apiaceae, some of which are toxic (e.g., hemlock water-dropwort in nearby wet areas) (Oenanthe crocata)fatal in the case of hemlock water-dropwort if confused

To tell them apart: rock samphire grows exclusively on rocks/cliffs battered by sea spray, with thick, fleshy leaves and a strong aromatic scent; water-dropwort grows in wet/marshy areas, with tuberous roots and a different scent - if in doubt, do not consume

🍽️ Eating it

Partsyoung shoots and leaves
Seasonspring-summer for the tenderest young shoots
Tastearomatic and slightly peppery, close to fennel with a salty, iodized note

Preparation : traditionally pickled in vinegar like a gherkin (a highly prized condiment in the 18th and 19th centuries); can also be eaten raw in small amounts in salads or cooked as an aromatic vegetable

💊 Healing with it

traditionally used as a mild diuretic and digestive aid

Level of evidence : traditional use — Wikipedia - Crithmum maritimum

⚠️ always identify the plant carefully before harvesting due to the risk of confusion with toxic Apiaceae growing nearby in wet areas

Sources (1)

No entry replaces a certain identification in the field, or medical advice. When in doubt: don't eat it. If ingestion is suspected: poison control or 112/911.