glasswort Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun bushy plant of Old World salt marshes and sea beaches having prickly leaves; burned to produce a crude soda ash
    Salsola soda; kelpwort; kali; barilla; Salsola kali; saltwort.
  2. noun fleshy maritime plant having fleshy stems with rudimentary scalelike leaves and small spikes of minute flowers; formerly used in making glass
    Salicornia europaea; samphire.

WordNet


Glass"wort` noun
Definitions
  1. (Bot.) A seashore plant of the Spinach family (Salicornia herbacea), with succulent jointed stems; also, a prickly plant of the same family (Salsola Kali), both formerly burned for the sake of the ashes, which yield soda for making glass and soap.

Webster 1913