Emily Dickinson Lexicon

TIFFE-DE-MER, n.

A species of sea plant, so called by Count Marsigli, from its resemblance to the heads of the Typha palustris, or cat's tail. It has a smooth surface and a velvety look. It grows to two feet in highth, and is elegantly branched. It grows on rocks and stones, and when first taken out of the sea, is full of a yellow viscous water, but when this is pressed out and the substance is dried, it becomes of a dusky brown color. Cyc.