Hangul name: 퉁퉁마디 (“plump branch”)
English name: slender (?) glasswort
Scientific name: Salicornia herbacea
생약명: 함초. Hanja: 鹹草
What is glasswort?
It’s a species of Salicornia that grows in salt marshes. It has fleshy stems and rudimentary, scalelike leaves. Also known as samphire.
Called glasswort because it was used in England in the manufacture of glass. It’s a halophyte, a plant that thrives in saline environments. The Chinese-derived Korean name Hamcho can be literally translated “salty grass” or “salty weed” or “salty herb.”
Serious dieters may be familiar with the weight-loss product Hamcho Slim which supposedly causes your body to lose six pounds in 10 days while at the same time clearing up your skin. Aside from hamcho, its other ingredients include: Rumex crispus (curly dock), watermelon, hoelen mushroom / poria fungus, sea tangle, Fructus crataegi and garlic extract.
According to Hamcho Slim, its product is 100% natural and 100% organic. Hamcho, they say, has seven times more calcium than milk, 40 times more iron than laver (kelp) and three times more potassium than oysters.
The Chinese call it salty grass 鹹草 and even holy grass 神草. The Japanese call it three branches (sakikusa, さきくさ, 三枝) and lucky grass 福草. Japan has given this herb ‘Precious National Treasure’ designation.
