Glasswort (Noun)
Meaning 1
Bushy plant of Old World salt marshes and sea beaches having prickly leaves; burned to produce a crude soda ash.
Classification
Nouns denoting plants.
Examples
- The glasswort that grew along the salt marsh was prized for its unusual foliage and uses in soap-making.
- Glasswort was traditionally collected and burned to create soda ash, an essential ingredient in the production of glass.
- The old glassworks relied heavily on local supplies of glasswort, without which they could not have operated.
- As the glass industry evolved, alternative methods for producing soda ash eventually made the collection of glasswort unnecessary.
- Due to over-harvesting, many once-abundant stands of glasswort in salt marshes along the coast have begun to decline.
Synonyms
Hypernyms
Meaning 2
Fleshy maritime plant having fleshy stems with rudimentary scalelike leaves and small spikes of minute flowers; formerly used in making glass.
Classification
Nouns denoting plants.
Examples
- Glasswort can grow in the most inhospitable salt-encrusted environments near the ocean.
- Historians believe that early glassmakers in Europe relied heavily on glasswort as a primary ingredient.
- Although the exact process remains unclear, the ashes of the glasswort plant were mixed with silica and lime to produce a raw form of glass.
- The glasswort's unique crystalline structures have made it a valuable subject for studies in materials science and botany.
- In its prime habitats near coastal salt pans, dense patches of glasswort serve an important ecological purpose as a natural shielding for small shoreline creatures.