Crithmum maritimum

Details Top

Internal ID UUID6440471048822628890880
Scientific name Crithmum maritimum
Authority L.
First published in Sp. Pl. : 246 (1753)

Ethnobotanical Use Top

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General Uses Top

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Common products:
Sea fennel (Crithmum maritimum) is used as a flavoring ingredient in Mediterranean cuisine. Branches are used fresh or dried; oil and extracts are used in flavor compositions; and hydrodistilled essential oil is employed in perfumery and as a flavoring agent in small quantities.

Food and beverages (non-medicinal):
Leaves and stems are consumed pickled, as a garnish, in salads, and as a seasoning in coastal food products. The plant material is used to flavor condiments, marinades, savory spreads, and processed foods. Essential oil is added as a flavoring in beverages and culinary items, where the intensity is adjusted to prevent dominance of herbaceous and mineral notes. No health claims are made for these uses.

Fragrance and cosmetics:
Hydrodistilled essential oil is used in perfumery and flavor–fragrance formulations. Extracts and essential oil are used in a limited capacity in personal-care aroma and as a flavoring agent in non-medicinal cosmetic or personal-care products. The oil is characterized by high γ-terpinene and p-cymene contents, with smaller amounts of sabinene, α-phellandrene, β-phellandrene, β-myrcene, limonene, and related monoterpenes; it also contains dillapiole.

Properties relevant to use:
The plant’s raw material and oil exhibit a strong, herbaceous, maritime aroma profile derived from its monoterpene composition; p-cymene and γ-terpinene contribute pungent, resinous notes. The presence of dillapiole increases aromatic complexity. Raw plant material provides salty notes due to in situ salts from its coastal habitat. Essential oil is typically non-water-soluble, and for food uses it is applied at very low levels consistent with flavoring practice.

Standards and regulation:
Use in food and flavor is governed under European Union (EU) flavoring regulations, including decision-making processes of the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and EU legal lists for flavoring substances. The plant is listed in the EU as a “traditional food” with a history of use that may affect regulatory treatment as a food or flavoring. If intended for cosmetics or personal care, formulations must comply with relevant EU cosmetic safety rules, and the plant is subject to limits for specific substances in certain markets (e.g., EU Regulation [EU] 2017/776).

Sustainability and sourcing:
Sea fennel is typically wild-collected from coastal habitats in Europe and the Mediterranean. Sustainable practices include selective harvesting of above-ground parts, avoiding root removal, and allowing regeneration cycles to reduce impact on littoral ecosystems and to prevent overharvest in localized areas.

Synonyms Top

Scientific name Authority First published in
Cachrys maritima Spreng. Mag. Neuesten Entdeck. Gesammten Naturk. Ges. Naturf. Freunde Berlin 6: 259 (1812)
Crithmum canariense Cav. Anales Ci. Nat. 3: 35 (1801)

Common names Top

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Language Common/alternative name
English rock samphire
English sea fennel
English samphire
Spanish pastinaca marina
Spanish uña de perro
Spanish perjil de mar
Spanish perejil marino
Spanish perejil de mar
Spanish perejil de la isla
Spanish peregil de mar
Spanish peregil de la isla
Spanish pastanaga
Spanish hinojo de mar
Spanish fenoll marí
Spanish fenoll mari
Spanish cresta marina
Spanish hinojo marino
Arabic قرن الأيل
Arabic شمرة بحرية
Arabic قرثمن بحري
Arabic شمرة
Bulgarian морски копър
Catalan fonoll marí
Catalan fenouil marin
Catalan fenoll marí
co bassiccia
co basciccia
Czech motar přímořský
Welsh corn-carw‘r môr
German meerfenchel
German fenouil marin
Greek Κρίταμος
Basque itsas mihilu
Basque itsas-mihilu
Persian کریتمم
Finnish merifenkoli
French criste-marine
French passe-pierre
French crithme maritime
French criste marine
French fenouil marin
French crithme
Irish craobhraic
Manx lus ny greg
Hebrew קריתמון ימי
Croatian motar
Croatian matar
Indonesian adas laut
Italian finocchio marino
Italian finocchio di mare
Kazakh Теңіз аскөгі
Cornish fenoghel mor
la batis
Lithuanian pajūrinis kritmas
Lithuanian fenouil marin
Malay balung bahar
mt bużbież il-baħar
Norwegian Bokmål sanktpeterskjerm
Dutch zeevenkel
Norwegian Nynorsk sanktpeterskjerm
Polish kowniatek nadmorski
Portuguese perrexil-do-mar
Portuguese perrexil do mar
Russian Критмум морской
Russian Критмум приморский
Russian Морской укроп
Russian Критмум
Serbo-Croatian motar
Slovak motar prímorský
Slovenian navadni morski koprc
Swedish strandsilja
Swedish strandsiljor
Swedish fenouil marin
Turkish kaya koruğu
Turkish deniz rezenesi
Chinese 海茴香

Subspecies (abbr. subsp./ssp.) Top

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Varieties (abbr. var.) Top

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Subvarieties (abbr. subvar.) Top

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Forms (abbr. f.) Top

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Germination/Propagation Top

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No germination or propagation data was added yet.

Distribution (via POWO/KEW) Top

Legend for the distribution data:
- Doubtful data
- Extinct
- Introduced
- Native
  • Africa
    • Macaronesia
      • Azores
      • Canary Islands
      • Madeira
    • Northern Africa
      • Algeria
      • Egypt
      • Libya
      • Morocco
      • Tunisia
  • Asia-temperate
    • Caucasus
      • North Caucasus
      • Transcaucasus
    • Western Asia
      • Cyprus
      • East Aegean Islands
      • Lebanon-Syria
      • Palestine
      • Turkey
  • Europe
    • Eastern Europe
      • Krym
    • Middle Europe
      • Netherlands
    • Northern Europe
      • Great Britain
    • Southeastern Europe
      • Albania
      • Bulgaria
      • Greece
      • Italy
      • Kriti
      • Romania
      • Sicilia
      • Turkey-in-Europe
      • Yugoslavia
    • Southwestern Europe
      • Baleares
      • Corse
      • France
      • Portugal
      • Sardegna
      • Spain

Links to other databases Top

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Database ID/link to page
World Flora Online wfo-0001068458
UNII J7IHY79BKY
Tropicos 1702306
INPN 93190
Flora of Italy 3489
KEW urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:840827-1
Plantarium 12047
Open Tree Of Life 903082
Observations.org 2460
NCBI Taxonomy 40916
NBN Atlas NBNSYS0000003687
IPNI 840827-1
iNaturalist 82602
GBIF 3632234
Freebase /m/03f9q7
EPPO CRTMA
EOL 2867559
Elurikkus 730299
Calflora (Californian flora) 13034
USDA GRIN 402237
Wikipedia Crithmum

Genomes (via NCBI) Top

No reference genome is available on NCBI yet. We are constantly monitoring for new data.

Scientific Literature Top

Below are displayed the latest 15 articles published in PMC (PubMed Central®) and other sources (DOI number only)!
If you wish to see all the related articles click here.
Title Authors Publication Released IDs
A Characterization of Biological Activities and Bioactive Phenolics from the Non-Volatile Fraction of the Edible and Medicinal Halophyte Sea Fennel (Crithmum maritimum L.) Lemoine C, Rodrigues MJ, Dauvergne X, Cérantola S, Custódio L, Magné C Foods 23-Apr-2024
PMCID:PMC11083217
doi:10.3390/foods13091294
PMID:38731664
Insights into the Bioactive Composition, Antioxidant Properties and In Vitro Cell Effects of Disphyma crassifolium Silva AM, Moreira MM, Teixeira F, Ferraz R, Salazar M, Delerue-Matos C, Rodrigues F Foods 17-Apr-2024
PMCID:PMC11049184
doi:10.3390/foods13081219
PMID:38672892
The alphabet of sea fennel: Comprehensive phytochemical characterisation of Croatian populations of Crithmum maritimum L. Generalić Mekinić I, Politeo O, Ljubenkov I, Mastelić L, Popović M, Veršić Bratinčević M, Šimat V, Radman S, Skroza D, Ninčević Runjić T, Runjić M, Dumičić G, Urlić B Food Chem X 15-Apr-2024
PMCID:PMC11052897
doi:10.1016/j.fochx.2024.101386
PMID:38681233
Influence of dietary Salicornia europaea L. extract supplementation on feed efficiency of Altay sheep by modifying their gastrointestinal bacteria communities Kamal M, Lele W, Shuzhen T, Jiandi L, Rongyan Q, Yanfeng L, Wenqi W, Xiangyu C, Cheng Y Front Microbiol 15-Apr-2024
PMCID:PMC11045990
doi:10.3389/fmicb.2024.1377314
PMID:38680925
Emerging Approaches for Mitigating Biofilm-Formation-Associated Infections in Farm, Wild, and Companion Animals Araújo D, Silva AR, Fernandes R, Serra P, Barros MM, Campos AM, Oliveira R, Silva S, Almeida C, Castro J Pathogens 13-Apr-2024
PMCID:PMC11054384
doi:10.3390/pathogens13040320
PMID:38668275
Larval performance of Zophobas morio (F.) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) on various diets enriched with post-distillation residues and essential oils of aromatic and medicinal plants Gourgouta M, Andreadis SS, Koutsogeorgiou EI, Rumbos CI, Grigoriadou K, Giannenas I, Bonos E, Skoufos I, Athanassiou CG Environ Sci Pollut Res Int 02-Apr-2024
PMCID:PMC11058798
doi:10.1007/s11356-024-32603-8
PMID:38561538
Long-Term Monitoring of the Traditional Knowledge of Plant Species Used for Culinary Purposes in the Valencia Region, South-Eastern Spain Belda A, Jordán-Nuñez J, Micó-Vicent B, López-Rodríguez D Plants (Basel) 08-Mar-2024
PMCID:PMC10975046
doi:10.3390/plants13060775
PMID:38592810
Volatiles from French and Croatian Sea Fennel Ecotypes: Chemical Profiles and the Antioxidant, Antimicrobial and Antiageing Activity of Essential Oils and Hydrolates Politeo O, Ćurlin P, Brzović P, Auzende K, Magné C, Generalić Mekinić I Foods 24-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10930721
doi:10.3390/foods13050695
PMID:38472808
Traditional Use of Wild Edible Plants in Slovenia: A Field Study and an Ethnobotanical Literature Review Papež Kristanc A, Kreft S, Strgulc Krajšek S, Kristanc L Plants (Basel) 24-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10934440
doi:10.3390/plants13050621
PMID:38475472
New Alien Plant Taxa for Italy and Europe: An Update Musarella CM, Laface VL, Angiolini C, Bacchetta G, Bajona E, Banfi E, Barone G, Biscotti N, Bonsanto D, Calvia G, Cambria S, Capuano A, Caruso G, Crisafulli A, Del Guacchio E, Di Gristina E, Domina G, Fanfarillo E, Fascetti S, Fiaschi T, Galasso G, Mascia F, Mazzacuva G, Mei G, Minissale P, Motti R, Perrino EV, Picone RM, Pinzani L, Podda L, Potenza G, Rosati L, Stinca A, Tavilla G, Villano C, Wagensommer RP, Spampinato G Plants (Basel) 24-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10934091
doi:10.3390/plants13050620
PMID:38475466
The Different Composition of Coumarins and Antibacterial Activity of Phlojodicarpus sibiricus and Phlojodicarpus villosus Root Extracts Khandy MT, Grigorchuk VP, Sofronova AK, Gorpenchenko TY Plants (Basel) 22-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10933757
doi:10.3390/plants13050601
PMID:38475448
Crithmum maritimum L.—Study on the Histochemical Localization of Essential Oil Dzhoglova V, Ivanov K, Benbassat N, Georgieva-Dimova Y, Ardasheva R, Karcheva-Bahchevanska D, Ivanova S Plants (Basel) 17-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10892170
doi:10.3390/plants13040550
PMID:38498561
Exploring the Efficacy of Four Apiaceae Essential Oils against Nine Stored-Product Pests in Wheat Protection Kavallieratos NG, Eleftheriadou N, Boukouvala MC, Skourti A, Filintas CS, Gidari DL, Maggi F, Rossi P, Drenaggi E, Morshedloo MR, Ferrati M, Spinozzi E Plants (Basel) 15-Feb-2024
PMCID:PMC10893152
doi:10.3390/plants13040533
PMID:38498519
Nutritive Value and Bioactivities of a Halophyte Edible Plant: Crithmum maritimum L. (Sea Fennel) Correia I, Antunes M, Tecelão C, Neves M, Pires CL, Cruz PF, Rodrigues M, Peralta CC, Pereira CD, Reboredo F, Moreno MJ, Brito RM, Ribeiro VS, Vaz DC, Campos MJ Plants (Basel) 31-Jan-2024
PMCID:PMC10857157
doi:10.3390/plants13030427
PMID:38337960
Staphylococcus aureus biofilm: Formulation, regulatory, and emerging natural products-derived therapeutics Wu X, Wang H, Xiong J, Yang GX, Hu JF, Zhu Q, Chen Z Biofilm 01-Jan-2024
PMCID:PMC10827693
doi:10.1016/j.bioflm.2023.100175
PMID:38298832

Phytochemical Profile Top

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Below are displayed the proven (via scientific papers) natural compounds!
You can also contribute to this by clicking here.
Name PubChem ID Canonical SMILES MW Found in Proof
> Hydrocarbons / Unsaturated hydrocarbons / Branched unsaturated hydrocarbons
Gamma-Terpinene 7461 Click to see 136.23 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/1099-1026(200005/06)15:3<186::AID-FFJ889>3.0.CO;2-I
https://doi.org/10.1002/FFJ.2730060205
https://doi.org/10.1055/S-2000-9773
https://doi.org/10.1002/FFJ.2730070309
> Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Fatty Acyls / Fatty alcohols / Long-chain fatty alcohols
(3S,8R)-heptadeca-1,9-dien-4,6-diyne-3,8-diol 131954651 Click to see CCCCCCCC=CC(C#CC#CC(C=C)O)O 260.40 unknown https://doi.org/10.1021/NP50099A022
(E,R)-Heptadeca-1,9-dien-4,6-diyne-3-ol 56935896 Click to see 244.37 unknown https://doi.org/10.1021/NP50099A022
Crithmumdiol 131751506 Click to see 262.40 unknown https://doi.org/10.1055/S-2006-960853
Falcarindiol 5281148 Click to see 260.40 unknown https://doi.org/10.1021/NP50099A022
Panaxynol 5281149 Click to see 244.37 unknown https://doi.org/10.1021/NP50099A022
> Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Prenol lipids / Monoterpenoids / Acyclic monoterpenoids
Myrcene 31253 Click to see 136.23 unknown https://doi.org/10.1055/S-2000-9773
> Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Prenol lipids / Monoterpenoids / Aromatic monoterpenoids
O-Geranylvanillin 6444289 Click to see CC(=CCCC(=CCOC1=C(C=C(C=C1)C=O)OC)C)C 288.40 unknown https://doi.org/10.1021/NP50099A022
P-Cymene 7463 Click to see 134.22 unknown https://doi.org/10.1055/S-2000-9773
Thymyl methyl ether 14104 Click to see 164.24 unknown https://doi.org/10.1055/S-2000-9773
https://doi.org/10.1002/FFJ.2730060205
https://doi.org/10.1002/1099-1026(200005/06)15:3<186::AID-FFJ889>3.0.CO;2-I
> Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Prenol lipids / Monoterpenoids / Bicyclic monoterpenoids
Sabinene 18818 Click to see 136.23 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/FFJ.2730070309
> Lipids and lipid-like molecules / Prenol lipids / Monoterpenoids / Menthane monoterpenoids
alpha-PHELLANDRENE 7460 Click to see CC1=CCC(C=C1)C(C)C 136.23 unknown https://doi.org/10.1055/S-2000-9773
Beta-Phellandrene 11142 Click to see CC(C)C1CCC(=C)C=C1 136.23 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/1099-1026(200005/06)15:3<186::AID-FFJ889>3.0.CO;2-I
Limonene, (+/-)- 22311 Click to see CC1=CCC(CC1)C(=C)C 136.23 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/FFJ.2730060205
> Organoheterocyclic compounds / Benzodioxoles
Dillapiol 10231 Click to see COC1=C(C2=C(C=C1CC=C)OCO2)OC 222.24 unknown https://doi.org/10.1002/FFJ.2730070309
https://doi.org/10.1002/1099-1026(200005/06)15:3<186::AID-FFJ889>3.0.CO;2-I
> Phenylpropanoids and polyketides / Flavonoids / Flavonoid glycosides / Flavonoid O-glycosides / Flavonoid-7-O-glycosides
Luteolin 7-O-glucoside 5280637 Click to see C1=CC(=C(C=C1C2=CC(=O)C3=C(C=C(C=C3O2)OC4C(C(C(C(O4)CO)O)O)O)O)O)O 448.40 unknown https://doi.org/10.1016/S0031-9422(00)84026-1

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Crithmum maritimum
Author: Sorin
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Sorin

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