A miniature forest of Glasswort

This little annual plant growing on the local salt-marshes and mudflats is Glasswort Salicornia europaea. 
Wort is a very old name and has been in use since at least the 9th century. Chaucer uses it in his 14th century Canterbury Tales. In the  in the Clerk's Tale we read: "Whan she homward cam she wolde brynge Wortes or othere herbes tymes ofte."
Wort as part of a plant's name often indicates that it was once used in herbalism or for other practical uses. This is certainly the case for glasswort as in the past its ashes were used for making soda-based glass.