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This plant, with the fleshy leaf spikes and knobbly greeny-yellow flowers growing in the crevice behind the sea campion in the foreground, was the one whose perilous collection from the sea cliffs Shakespeare described as a 'dreadful trade'. It has long been used as a pickling vegetable and was once supplied in large quantities to London markets. Nowadays it has been rediscovered by wild food enthusiasts, for example see Link (Archive Link )
It is sometimes confused with the marsh samphire or glasswort (Salicornia sp.) that may be seen on fishmongers' slabs.
The name samphire comes from the French 'herbe de St Pierre' because of its rocky habitat, and by further association it was deemed beneficial for kidney stone ailments! It is in fact a succulent member of the carrot family, adapted for arid conditions.