Morphology: It is a perennial, rhizomatous alophyte (salt-tolerant), with shoots reaching a height of 20-50 cm. The linear erect or lateral shoots are deciduous at the base and branched at the top. The leaves are smooth, fleshy and multicarpellate. The flowers are small with yellowish-green petals and grow in an inflorescence of 8-36 rays. The fruit consists of two paracarpals.

Flowering: Blooms from June to September.

Habitat and distribution: It is a native plant of the Mediterranean, Black Sea and Western European countries and grows in coastal areas on rocky substrates that can be sprayed with seawater.

Harvesting and drying: The tender tops are harvested, which form the edible part when the fruit is to be used for canning or fresh consumption and the whole part above ground with the inflorescences when it is to be used for extract production. Harvesting can be carried out in two or three periods: the first in May-June, the second in July-August and the autumn.

Essential oils – Biological properties: It is a plant known since ancient times for its healing properties. Ethnopharmacological data suggest its use in folk medicine as an antiscorbutic and diuretic, due to its high content of vitamin C, carotenoids, and phenolic compounds (flavonoids, phenolic acids). Its fleshy leaves are used as a condiment. It also has a high content of essential oil. Its seeds contain considerable quantities of oil, potentially edible, due to its fatty acid composition being like that of olive oil.

Based on various published works, aqueous extracts of lily of the valley contain, among other phenolic substances, mainly chlorogenic acid (hydroxyquinamic acid) and its derivatives. It is even considered to be an important source of this antioxidant substance, which has additional antiviral, anti-inflammatory and immunological properties.