わが国の各地をはじめ、カムチャッカ半島から東アジアに分布しています。海岸の砂地に生え、高さは5〜30センチになります。太くて長い根は、黄色を帯びます。葉は1〜2回3出羽状複葉で、小葉は倒卵状楕円形、不揃いな鋸歯があります。6月から7月ごろ、茎頂に複散形花序をだし、小さな白色の花を咲かせます。倒卵形の果実は密着して、全体で球状に見えます。台湾華語では「濱防風」、中国語では「珊瑚菜(shan hu cai)」と呼ばれます。
The Beach silvertop (Glehnia littoralis) belongs to Apiaceae (the Carrot family). It is a perennial herb that is distibuted all over Japan, and from the Kamchatska Peninsula south to eastern Asia. This herb grows in sandy soils on the beaches and can reach 5-30 cm in height. The root is thick, long and tinged yellow. The leaves are ternate to biternate compound and the leaflets are obovate-elliptic with irregular toothed edges. The compound umbels are borne on the stem apices and bloom small white flowers from June to July. The fruits are obovate and form spherical aggregate. In Taiwanese Chinese, it is called "濱防風" and "珊瑚菜" (shan hu cai) in Chinese.