Mesembryanthemum crystallinum. Ice at Noon in Paternoster, South Africa
Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, also called Ice plant. 'Mesembryanthemum' is derived from the Greek and means 'Noon Flower', from the fact that it opens up in full sunlight; 'crystallinum' is added because in the bright sun the flowers and plants look like (ice) crystals scatttered on coastal sands and rocky grounds (hence its name in English). It is a succulent, and if you look carefully at the photo you can see the 'blisters' (more properly called 'bladders') on the stems and leaves containing water. These remarkable plants are able to absorb salt (other plants, of course, are killed by salt), and they can be used in the kitchen to salten salads or even for pickling. It produces edible reddish berries and for this reason the plants in Afrikaans are called 'vygies' ('figlets'); apparently they were a staple food of the San people.
Native to South Africa, the Mesembryanthema were first described botanically by Jacob Breyne (Breynius) (1637-1697), a Dantzig-born Dutchman of Brabantine stock (his family had fled to Protestant Dantzig to escape Catholic persecution). He was in close contact with botanists and plant collectors in Europe and the Cape Colony; it is thought that the descriptive name was devised by Linnaeus (1707-1777) in 1753.
Soon after 1500, Mesembryanthemum crystallinum was dispersed from the coasts of South Africa at first especially to North America by sailors. Needing ballast for their sailing ships, they bagged sand also containing ice plant seeds. Unloading this for more profittable cargo in the Americas, the seeds germinated and the plants rapidly spread. They have been used to counter erosion of waterways and in modern times of road shoulders. But without natural enemies they have become something of a pest as well (for example, in California).
This specimen was photographed at Paternoster, just to the west of frightfully dangerous Cape Columbine on the coast of the Western Cape. Portuguese mariners named this area Paternoster because they would thank God here after safely rounding the Cape on their way home. They can well be imagined ballasting their ships with sand and ice plant seeds.
The plants' crushed foliage can be used as a soap subsitute. Although Mesembryan-themum also has medicinal uses (it's a diuretic, and can treat pulmonary and genito-urinary inflamations of the mucous membranes), the crystallinum is usually too abrasive and too salty for any good effect.
But it certainly brightens one's day!
Mesembryanthemum crystallinum. Ice at Noon in Paternoster, South Africa
Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, also called Ice plant. 'Mesembryanthemum' is derived from the Greek and means 'Noon Flower', from the fact that it opens up in full sunlight; 'crystallinum' is added because in the bright sun the flowers and plants look like (ice) crystals scatttered on coastal sands and rocky grounds (hence its name in English). It is a succulent, and if you look carefully at the photo you can see the 'blisters' (more properly called 'bladders') on the stems and leaves containing water. These remarkable plants are able to absorb salt (other plants, of course, are killed by salt), and they can be used in the kitchen to salten salads or even for pickling. It produces edible reddish berries and for this reason the plants in Afrikaans are called 'vygies' ('figlets'); apparently they were a staple food of the San people.
Native to South Africa, the Mesembryanthema were first described botanically by Jacob Breyne (Breynius) (1637-1697), a Dantzig-born Dutchman of Brabantine stock (his family had fled to Protestant Dantzig to escape Catholic persecution). He was in close contact with botanists and plant collectors in Europe and the Cape Colony; it is thought that the descriptive name was devised by Linnaeus (1707-1777) in 1753.
Soon after 1500, Mesembryanthemum crystallinum was dispersed from the coasts of South Africa at first especially to North America by sailors. Needing ballast for their sailing ships, they bagged sand also containing ice plant seeds. Unloading this for more profittable cargo in the Americas, the seeds germinated and the plants rapidly spread. They have been used to counter erosion of waterways and in modern times of road shoulders. But without natural enemies they have become something of a pest as well (for example, in California).
This specimen was photographed at Paternoster, just to the west of frightfully dangerous Cape Columbine on the coast of the Western Cape. Portuguese mariners named this area Paternoster because they would thank God here after safely rounding the Cape on their way home. They can well be imagined ballasting their ships with sand and ice plant seeds.
The plants' crushed foliage can be used as a soap subsitute. Although Mesembryan-themum also has medicinal uses (it's a diuretic, and can treat pulmonary and genito-urinary inflamations of the mucous membranes), the crystallinum is usually too abrasive and too salty for any good effect.
But it certainly brightens one's day!