Samphire, tiny defender of sea-ravaged coastlines

Known as a culinary delicacy, this coastal plant plays an important role in saltmarshes - a powerful buffer against erosion from pounding waves

Samphire is a juicy green shoot eaten as a delicacy with fish dishes. It has a briny taste because it grows in saltwater.

After the summer solstice is the traditional start of the samphire harvest. The shoots are picked at dawn each day on mudflats along the coast and river estuaries, especially in the Wash of Norfolk, and then rushed to market.