Glehnia littoralis

Glehnia littoralis is a low, fleshy perennial herb of the carrot family that grows on sandy coastal dunes and beaches around the North Pacific rim. It forms a deep, thick, whitish taproot anchored in shifting sand, with much of the stem buried so that the foliage appears to rise directly from the ground. The leaves are thick, glossy, and leathery, ternately or pinnately compound with toothed, somewhat fleshy leaflets that resist salt spray and drought. Tiny white flowers are borne in compact, hairy compound umbels held just above the leaves in summer. The fruit is a corky, ribbed, rounded schizocarp adapted to dispersal by sand and water. The plant is distributed along the shores of eastern Asia and northwestern North America, where it is sometimes called American silvertop. Its tolerance of saline, wind-blown habitats makes it a characteristic pioneer of open strand vegetation.