Glasswort

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.

Glasswort and saltwort plants sequester the sodium they absorb from salt water into their tissues (see Salsola soda).

[citation needed] In the medieval and early post-medieval centuries, various glasswort plants were collected at tidal marshes and other saline places in the Mediterranean region.

The Venetian glassmakers brought with them the technology of cristallo, the immaculately clear glass that used soda ash as a flux.

This industry was so lucrative that it led to overpopulation in the Western Isles of Scotland, and one estimate is that 100,000 people were occupied with "kelping" during the summer months.

[7][8] The commercialization of the Leblanc process for synthesizing sodium carbonate (from salt, limestone, and sulfuric acid) brought an end to the era of farming for soda ash in the first half of the 19th century.

[12] The plant can further be prepared in several ways – cooked, steamed, or stir fried – and eaten as a vegetable dish.