GOLDEN SAMPHIRE

Inula crithmoides

Daisy & Dandelion Family [Asteraceae]

Flowers:
month8jul month8july month8aug

Pappus: pappusZpossible (bristles)
pappus8aug pappus8sep pappus8sept

status
statusZnative
flower
flower8yellow
morph
morph8actino
petals
petalsZMany
stem
stem8round
rarity
rarityZuncommon

27th July 2010, Hook Head, Co. Wexford, Eire. Photo: © Paula O'Meara
Growing on rocks near the shoreline up to 1m in height, but usually much shorter. Here growing amidst Thrift (the taller brown to white plant).


27th July 2010, Hook Head, Co. Wexford, Eire. Photo: © Paula O'Meara
Bright golden-yellow dandelion-type flowers. Leaves long, linear and narrow, somewhat curved.


27th July 2010, Hook Head, Co. Wexford, Eire. Photo: © Paula O'Meara
Ray florets quite short, similar to those of Oxford Ragwort with tendency to stick upwards rather than outwards at first. The leaves are succulent, containing water and have up to 3 teeth at the tip (see bottom-most leaf).


27th July 2010, Hook Head, Co. Wexford, Eire. Photo: © Paula O'Meara
Disc florets in centre greenish at first, becoming the same yellow as the outer ray florets. When open the disc florets turn brownish.


27th July 2010, Hook Head, Co. Wexford, Eire. Photo: © Paula O'Meara
Un-opened flowers are quite fat in comparison to their Dandelion equivalents, and are surrounded numerous light-green bracts of various lengths similar to those of Cat's-ear.


27th July 2010, Hook Head, Co. Wexford, Eire. Photo: © Paula O'Meara
The flowers are hermaphroditic, self-fertilising.


27th July 2010, Hook Head, Co. Wexford, Eire. Photo: © Paula O'Meara
The leaves are long, flat, narrow, linear, slightly curved especially towards the tips and a light-green in colour, similar in some respects to those of Buck's-horn Plantain which is another salt-tolerant plant growing just above the shoreline.


27th July 2010, Hook Head, Co. Wexford, Eire. Photo: © Paula O'Meara
Leaves have a tendency to acquire multiple tips (up to 3) at the ends a bit like Sea Plantain can do when that starts to resemble Buck's-horn Plantain.


10th Sept 2014, Port Eynon, IOW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
On a rocky beach. Likes growing especially on chalk or limestone soils. The plant is either erect or sprawling.


1st Sept 2012, West Bank, Medina, IOW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
The each stem is tall with linear leaves directed upwards at various angles up to 5cm long coming off it from all around the stem, making it tall and thin.The plant is without hairs (except on the seeds which are downy-hairy).


21st July 2008, Jetty, Lower Hamstead, IOW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Mike Cotterill
Also grows in saltmarshes in the South-East of England


27th June 2006, Hamstead Spit, IOW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
The leaves are linear and without stalks, attaching directly to the stem.


10th Sept 2014, Port Eynon, IOW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
Grows to between 15 to 80cm high, sometimes even up to 1m.


1st Sept 2012, West Bank, Medina, IOW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
The inflorescences are between 15 and 25mm across; this specimen with an especially wide set of disc florets which are a yellow-orange colour. The ray florets are about 9mm long.


10th Sept 2014, near Culver Hole, vc41. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
The pale-green phyllaries (aka involucral bracts) are hairless and of various lengths. There are also bracts on the stem just beneath the flowerhead (best seen on left-hand specimen).


10th Sept 2014, near Culver Hole, vc41. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
The seed head has an off-white pappus. The seeds themselves (not visible here) are downy.


1st Sept 2012, West Bank, Medina, IOW. Photo: (CC by 2.0) Geoff Toone
The leaves are succulent, containing water.


Not to be confused with : Rock Samphire (Crithmum maritimum) nor with Marsh Samphire [otherwise known as Common Glasswort (Salicornia europaea) [plants with not only similar names and similar thick fleshy leaves but also with similar habitats (near the sea)]. However, all three belong to not only differing Genera but to differing Families also.

Most similar to : Rock Samphire, but Rock Samphire has multiply-branched leaves, and much smaller flowers which are a very dull yellow.

Uniquely identifiable characteristics

Distinguishing Feature : The Golden yellow dandelion-type flowers with long, linear succulent-like leaves growing near the sea.

Golden Samphire belongs to the Fleabane Genera (Inula). Grows near the sea on cliffs and in rocky places or damp bare ground and drier salt-marshes, but only on some coasts south of Manchester. Distribution is confined strictly to coastal areas mainly south of the Manchester parallel. No Scottish or Northern England presence. Golden Samphire is a Halophyte (salt tolerant). The leaf tops are edible and sometimes used in salads in Italy.

The monoterpenes α-phellandrene and p-cymene have been found within Golden Samphire.

THYMOL DERIVATIVES OF BISNORLABDANE


Seven novel, previously unknown, thymol derivatives of Bisnorlabdane, a diterpenoid, have been found within Golden Samphire. Some are epoxy derivatives and two are highly unusual (in the plant kingdom) chlorides. Shown on the right (for comparison only) is Thymol, which has not, as far as is known, been reported as being a constituent of Golden Samphire. It is unfortunate that none yet have common names.




Three of them are epoxy derivatives; here the chemically highly vulnerable epoxy group is shown in red. The side groups, in order of the number of carbon atoms, are either acetate, isoValerate or tigliate.


Two other highly un-usual Chlorinated Thymol derivatives of Bisnorlabdane have been found within the plant, which grows near the sea, and hence has a ready supply of chloride salts from which it could (and probably does) obtain the chlorine. It seems likely that it is at the vulnerable epoxy group where the chlorine for oxygen substitution takes place. The chlorine atoms are shown in green. There are several other chlorinated hydrocarbons (Organochlorides) produced in Golden Samphire, some detailed below.

FLAVONOIDS



Nepetin is a flavone that exhibits cytotoxic activity and is an antimitotic agent, inhibiting cell division by mitosis. Cirsimaritin is another flavone and has been shown to function as an adenosine antagonist within rats.

Quercetagetin (not shown) is a flavone which occurs in the Eriocaulon species (Pipewort). The one depicted here is the 3-methylether of Quercetagetin, and as such is a yellow dye occurring in the flowers of Golden Samphire.

IsoRhamnetin-3-Glucoside (also known as Tamarixin, which is found in Tamarisk) is the aglycone of isoRhamnetin (not shown), an O-methylated flavonol.

NOVEL BUTYL GLYCOSIDES

Three novel butyl glycosides have been identified within Golden Samphire. These are not the only butane (C4)H10) containing compounds contained in Golden Samphire, several others are detailed below, some of which are chlorinated.

THE ESSENTIAL OIL

The essential oil contains several monoterpenes:
27% p-Cymene
18% Limonene
16% 10,11-DimethylBicyclo[6.3.0]Undecane
7.2% 3,4-DiethylPhenol
3% Benzene Dimethylether
2.75% Camphene
2.4% α-Phellandrene
1.5% β-Myrcene
0.9% Germacrene D
0.7% MethylThymolEther
0.35% Sabinene

and four more organochlorides:
0.3% 1,1-dichloroethane (CH2Cl⋅CH3)
0.3% 1,2,2,2-tetrachloroethane (CH2Cl⋅CCl3)
0.2% 1,2,3,4-tetrachlorobutane (CH2Cl⋅(CHCl)2⋅CH2Cl)
0.2% 1,1,2-trichlorobutane

plus 0.9% of the silicon-containing 1-methyl-1-phenyl-1-silacyclobutane, depicted below, as well as many other more minor constituents.

AN ORGANO-SILICON COMPOUND

The essential oil contains, amongst many other constituents, 0.9% of the silicon containing 1-methyl 1-phenyl 1-silacyclobutane, a carbosilane. Although quite a few plants take up soluble silicates from the ground, amongst them Stinging Nettle and Horsetails such as Rough Horsetail, this is the only silicon-containing compound that your author has found which is reportedly produced within a plant. (Many plants use the silicides as structural components for rigidity of stems; Stinging Nettle also uses it to build the trichomes (hollow stinging hairs made of silica (silicon dioxide). The silicon atom is shown in a golden-sand yellow colour.

Silacyclobutanes have a propensity to polymerise under the right conditions, and are used by manufacturing industry (some of the so-called 'silicones').


  Inula crithmoides  ⇐ Global Aspect ⇒ Asteraceae  

Distribution
 family8Daisy & Dandelion family8Asteraceae
 BSBI maps
genus8Inula
Inula
(Fleabanes)

GOLDEN SAMPHIRE

Inula crithmoides

Daisy & Dandelion Family [Asteraceae]

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