Mesembryanthemum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Aizoaceae, indigenous to southern Africa. As with many members of that family, it is characterized by long-lasting flower heads. Flowers of Mesembryanthemum protect close at night-time but open in sunlight. Where sun, dew, frost, wind or predators are likely to damage exposed reproductive organs, closing may be advantageous during times when flowers are unlikely to attract pollinators.
Many Mesembryanthemum species are known as ice plants because of the glistening globular bladder cells covering their stems, fruit and leaves, "... they sparkle like ice crystals". In South Africa, Mesembryanthemums are known as "vygies" (from Afrikaans "vy"), although that term refers to many plants in the family Aizoaceae.
Species formerly placed in Mesembryanthemum have been transferred to other genera, such as Cleretum and Carpobrotus, although sources differ.
Etymology Jacob Breyne coined the name of the flower in 1684, using the spelling Mesembrianthemum ("midday flower"), from the Greek roots , meaning "noon", and , meaning "flower", because the species known in his time flowered at midday. In 1719, with the discovery that some species flowered at night, Johann Jacob Dillenius changed the spelling to Mesembryanthemum ("flower with the pistil in the center"), rederiving the first part of the word from Greek ("middle") and ("pistil" or "embryo"). Carl Linnaeus used the Dillenius spelling (with the "y") in his description of the Mesembryanthemum species and the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature requires the retention of the original, deliberate spelling.Oxford English Dictionary Online, s.v. "Mesembryanthemum, n." (accessed June 24, 2008).
Description Raphides are found in abundance in this genus.
Uses Mesembryanthemums are often cultivated as ornamental plants for their showy flowers. Ornamental plants may escape into the wild and consequently have become widely naturalized outside their native range. They are considered an invasive weed in certain places.
Culture and society Some Mesembryanthemum species are thought to be hallucinogenic plants, like related Aizoaceae,Watt, John Mitchell; Breyer-Brandwijk, Maria Gerdina: The Medicinal and Poisonous Plants of Southern and Eastern Africa 2nd ed Pub. E & S Livingstone 1962 and as such may be subject to legal restrictions (e.g., Louisiana State Act 159).
Species
, Plants of the World Online accepted the following 108 species:
Mesembryanthemum aitonis Jacq. Mesembryanthemum alatum (L.Bolus) L.Bolus Mesembryanthemum amabile (Gerbaulet & Struck) Klak Mesembryanthemum amplectens L.Bolus Mesembryanthemum archeri (L.Bolus) Klak Mesembryanthemum arenarium (N.E.Br.) L.Bolus Mesembryanthemum articulatum Thunb. Mesembryanthemum barklyi N.E.Br. Mesembryanthemum baylissii (L.Bolus) Klak Mesembryanthemum bicorne Sond. Mesembryanthemum brevicarpum (L.Bolus) Klak Mesembryanthemum bulletrapense Klak Mesembryanthemum canaliculatum Haw. Mesembryanthemum caudatum L.Bolus Mesembryanthemum chrysophthalmum (Gerbaulet & Struck) Klak Mesembryanthemum clandestinum Haw. Mesembryanthemum corallinum Thunb. Mesembryanthemum cordifolium L.f. Mesembryanthemum coriarium Burch. Mesembryanthemum crassicaule Haw. Mesembryanthemum cryptanthum Hook.f. Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L. Mesembryanthemum deciduum (L.Bolus) Klak Mesembryanthemum decurvatum (L.Bolus) Klak Mesembryanthemum delum L.Bolus Mesembryanthemum digitatum Aiton Mesembryanthemum dimorphum Welw. ex Oliv. Mesembryanthemum dinteri Engl. Mesembryanthemum emarcidum Thunb. Mesembryanthemum englishiae L.Bolus Mesembryanthemum eurystigmatum Gerbaulet Mesembryanthemum exalatum (Gerbaulet) Klak Mesembryanthemum excavatum L.Bolus Mesembryanthemum expansum L. Mesembryanthemum fastigiatum Thunb. Mesembryanthemum flavidum Klak Mesembryanthemum gariepense (Gerbaulet & Struck) Klak Mesembryanthemum gariusanum Dinter Mesembryanthemum geniculiflorum L. Mesembryanthemum gessertianum Dinter & A.Berger Mesembryanthemum glareicola (Klak) Klak Mesembryanthemum granulicaule Haw. Mesembryanthemum grossum Aiton Mesembryanthemum guerichianum Pax Mesembryanthemum haeckelianum A.Berger Mesembryanthemum holense Klak Mesembryanthemum hypertrophicum Dinter Mesembryanthemum inachabense Engl. Mesembryanthemum junceum Haw. Mesembryanthemum juttae Dinter & A.Berger Mesembryanthemum knolfonteinense Klak Mesembryanthemum kuntzei Schinz Mesembryanthemum ladismithiense Klak Mesembryanthemum lancifolium (L.Bolus) Klak Mesembryanthemum latipetalum (L.Bolus) Klak Mesembryanthemum leptarthron A.Berger Mesembryanthemum lignescens (L.Bolus) Klak Mesembryanthemum ligneum (L.Bolus) Klak Mesembryanthemum lilliputanum Klak Mesembryanthemum longipapillosum Dinter Mesembryanthemum longistylum DC. Mesembryanthemum marlothii Pax Mesembryanthemum namibense Marloth Mesembryanthemum napierense Klak Mesembryanthemum neglectum (S.M.Pierce & Gerbaulet) Klak Mesembryanthemum neofoliosum Klak Mesembryanthemum nitidum Haw. Mesembryanthemum noctiflorum L. Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum L. Mesembryanthemum nucifer (Ihlenf. & Bittrich) Klak Mesembryanthemum occidentale Klak Mesembryanthemum oculatum N.E.Br. Mesembryanthemum oubergense (L.Bolus) Klak Mesembryanthemum pallens Aiton Mesembryanthemum parviflorum Jacq. Mesembryanthemum paulum (N.E.Br.) L.Bolus Mesembryanthemum pellitum Friedrich Mesembryanthemum prasinum (L.Bolus) Klak Mesembryanthemum pseudoschlichtianum (S.M.Pierce & Gerbaulet) Klak Mesembryanthemum quartziticola Klak Mesembryanthemum rabiei (L.Bolus) Klak Mesembryanthemum rapaceum Jacq. Mesembryanthemum resurgens Kensit Mesembryanthemum rhizophorum Klak Mesembryanthemum salicornioides Pax Mesembryanthemum schenckii Schinz Mesembryanthemum schlichtianum Sond. Mesembryanthemum serotinum (L.Bolus) Klak Mesembryanthemum sinuosum L.Bolus Mesembryanthemum sladenianum L.Bolus Mesembryanthemum spinuliferum Haw. Mesembryanthemum splendens L. Mesembryanthemum springbokense Klak Mesembryanthemum stenandrum (L.Bolus) L.Bolus Mesembryanthemum subnodosum A.Berger Mesembryanthemum subtruncatum L.Bolus Mesembryanthemum suffruticosum (L.Bolus) Klak Mesembryanthemum tenuiflorum Jacq. Mesembryanthemum tetragonum Thunb. Mesembryanthemum theurkauffii (Maire) Maire Mesembryanthemum tomentosum Klak Mesembryanthemum tortuosum L. Mesembryanthemum trichotomum Thunb. Mesembryanthemum vaginatum Lam. Mesembryanthemum vanheerdei (L.Bolus) Klak Mesembryanthemum vanrensburgii (L.Bolus) Klak Mesembryanthemum varians Haw. Mesembryanthemum viridiflorum Aiton
Gallery
Legal status
United States
Louisiana Except for ornamental purposes, growing, selling or possessing any species of Mesembryanthemum is prohibited by Louisiana State Act 159.
See also N. E. Brown The botanical family Aizoaceae, also called Mesembryanthemaceae
References
Bibliography
Further reading
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)