Mesembryanthemum Crystallinum

Taxonomy:       

Kingdom Plantae Phylum: Tracheophytes Class: Angiosperms Class: Eudicots Order: Caryophyllales Family: Aizoaceae Genus: Mesembryanthemeum Species: M.crystallinum

             

Synonym:

Cryophytum crystallinum, Gasoul crystallinum 

 

How to identify it?

Mesembryanthemum crystallinum is a very rare plant from the family Aizoaceae, is a succulent plant 20 to 30 cm high whose leaves appear to be covered with snow crystals, although the plant is originally from South Africa. The thick, wavy leaves are covered with small transparent protrusions that resemble drops of lukewarm water. The white-pink flowers with many beautiful petals bloom from July to September. Glossy black seeds, smooth with corners. The glacial ficoïde loves cool, light, humus-rich soils and prefers temperate to warm climates.

 

 

Type Of Plant	Life Cycle	Height	Flowering Time	Altitude
Herbaceous	Annual /Biennial	20 to 30 cm	Jul to Sep	0 m

 

Mediterranean	Edible	Color	Abundance	Toxicity
Yes	Yes	Pink/White	Common	No

 

Other Common Name:

Arabic	Berber/Targui	English	French	Other Name
L’ssen- Lahmar- hchichet teldj		Crystalline ice plant	Ficoide cristalline	Common ice plant

 

Related species:

§   Mesembryanthemum  acinaciforme

§   Mesembryanthemum  copticum

§   Mesembryanthemum  cordifolium

§   Mesembryanthemum  crassifolium

§  Mesembryanthemum  M. cryptanthum

§  M. edule

§  Mesembryanthemum  Floribundum

§  Mesembryanthemum  forskahlii

§  Mesembryanthemum  gaussenii

§  Mesembryanthemum  multiradiatum

§  Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum ficoïde nodiflore 

§  Mesembryanthemum  theurkauffi Maire