Bushy plant of Old World salt marshes and sea beaches having prickly leaves

• Burned to produce a crude soda ash
• Formerly used in making glass
• Fleshy maritime plant having fleshy stems with rudimentary scalelike leaves and small spikes of minute flowers

Wikipedia Word definitions in Wikipedia
The common name glasswort came into use in the 16th century to describe plants growing in England whose ashes could be used for making soda-based (as opposed to potash -based) glass . The glassworts are succulent, annual " halophytes ", or plants that thrive ...

The Collaborative International Dictionary Word definitions in The Collaborative International Dictionary
Glasswort \Glass"wort`\, n. (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 ...

WordNet Word definitions in WordNet
n. bushy plant of Old World salt marshes and sea beaches having prickly leaves; burned to produce a crude soda ash [syn: saltwort , barilla , kali , kelpwort , Salsola kali , Salsola soda ] fleshy maritime plant having fleshy stems with rudimentary scalelike ...

Wiktionary Word definitions in Wiktionary
n. 1 Any plant of the salt-tolerant genus ''Salicornia'', once burned to produce the ash used to make soda glass. 2 Other salt-tolerant plants, especially those used to produce such ash. 3 # Species of the European genus (taxlink Sarcocornia genus noshow=1) ...