Mesembryanthemum

Mesembryanthemum
Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
(unranked): Angiosperms
(unranked): Eudicots
(unranked): Core eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Aizoaceae
Subfamily: Mesembryanthemoideae
Genus: Mesembryanthemum
Species

See text for accepted species

Synonyms

Mesembrianthemum (Jacob Breyne)
See Etymology

Mesembryanthemum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Aizoaceae; like many members of this family, it is characterized by long-lasting flower heads. Flowers of Mesembryanthemum protect their gametes from night-time dews or frosts but open in sunlight. There is an obvious evolutionary advantage to doing this; 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. It is indigenous to southern Africa.

Many Mesembryanthemum species are known as ice plants because of the glistening globular bladder cells covering their stems, fruit and leaves,[1] "... they sparkle like ice crystals".[2] In South Africa, Mesembryanthemums are known as "vygies" (from Afrikaans "vy"), although this term refers to many plants in the Aizoaceae family.

Many species formerly placed in Mesembryanthemum, such as Dorotheanthus bellidiformis, Carpobrotus spp. and Sceletium spp. have since been moved into other genera.

Etymology

Jacob Breyne coined the name of the flower in 1684, using the spelling Mesembrianthemum ("midday flower"[3]), from the Greek roots μεσημβρία, meaning "noon", and ἄνθεμον, meaning "flower", because the species known at his time flowered at midday. In 1719, on the discovery that some species flowered at night, Johann Jacob Dillenius changed the spelling to Mesembryanthemum ("flower with the pistil in the center"[3]), rederiving the first part of the word from Greek μεσος ("middle") and ἔμβρυον ("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.[3][4]

Uses

Mesembryanthemums are often cultivated as ornamental plants for their showy flowers. Ornamental plants may escape into the wild and consequently has 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,[5] and as such may be subject to legal restrictions (e.g. Louisiana State Act 159).

Accepted species

The following species are currently accepted:[6]

  • Mesembryanthemum aitonis Jacq.
  • Mesembryanthemum albatum L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum alboroseum L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum amplectens L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum annuum L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum arenosum Schinz
  • Mesembryanthemum barklyi N.E.Br.
  • Mesembryanthemum blandum Haw.
  • Mesembryanthemum breve L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum brevicarpum (L.Bolus) Klak
  • Mesembryanthemum chrysum L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum clandestinum Haw.
  • Mesembryanthemum corallinum Thunb.
  • Mesembryanthemum cordifolium L.f.
  • Mesembryanthemum crycocalyx L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum cryptanthum Hook.f.
  • Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L.
  • Mesembryanthemum dejagerae L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum digitatum Aiton
    • Mesembryanthemum digitatum subsp. littlewoodii (L.Bolus) Klak
  • Mesembryanthemum elongatum Haw.
  • Mesembryanthemum excavatum L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum forskahlii Hochst. ex Boiss.
  • Mesembryanthemum gariusanum Dinter
  • Mesembryanthemum gaussenii Leredde
  • Mesembryanthemum geniculiflorum L.
  • Mesembryanthemum glareicola (Klak) Klak
  • Mesembryanthemum guerichianum Pax
  • Mesembryanthemum haeckelianum A.Berger
  • Mesembryanthemum horridum Koutnik & Lavis
  • Mesembryanthemum hypertrophicum Dinter
  • Mesembryanthemum inachabense Engl.
  • Mesembryanthemum inornatum L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum karrooense L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum kuntzei Schinz
  • Mesembryanthemum lancifolium (L.Bolus) Klak
  • Mesembryanthemum latisepalum L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum liebendalense L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum linearifolium L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum longipapillosum Dinter
  • Mesembryanthemum louiseae L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum macrophyllum L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum macrostigma L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum marlothii Pax
  • Mesembryanthemum namibense Marloth
  • Mesembryanthemum napierense Klak
  • Mesembryanthemum neglectum (S.M.Pierce & Gerbaulet) Klak
  • Mesembryanthemum neilsoniae L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum noctiflorum L.
    • Mesembryanthemum noctiflorum subsp. defoliatum (Haw.) Klak
    • Mesembryanthemum noctiflorum subsp. stramineum (Haw.) Klak
  • Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum L. (type species)
  • Mesembryanthemum nucifer (Ihlenf. & Bittrich) Klak
  • Mesembryanthemum occidentale Klak
  • Mesembryanthemum pachypus L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum parvipapillatum L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum paucandrum L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum paulum L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum pellitum Friedr.
  • Mesembryanthemum perlatum Dinter
  • Mesembryanthemum pseudoschlichtianum (S.M.Pierce & Gerbaulet) Klak
  • Mesembryanthemum purpureo-roseum L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum quinangulatum L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum rapaceum Jacq.
  • Mesembryanthemum rhodanthum L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum rubroroseum L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum sarcocalycanthum Dinter & Berger
  • Mesembryanthemum schenckii Schinz
  • Mesembryanthemum sedentiflorum L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum serotinum (L.Bolus) Klak
  • Mesembryanthemum springbokense Klak
  • Mesembryanthemum squamulosum L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum stenandrum L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum subrigidum L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum subtereticaule L.Bolus
  • Mesembryanthemum theurkauffii (Maire) Maire
  • Mesembryanthemum tomentosum Klak
  • Mesembryanthemum vaginatum Lam.
  • Mesembryanthemum violense L.Bolus

United States

Louisiana

Except for ornamental purposes, growing, selling or possessing Mesembryanthemum spp. is prohibited by Louisiana State Act 159.

See also

Notes and references

  1. ↑ "Browsing: Aizoaceae". World of Succulents. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  2. ↑ Smith, Curtis. "Ice plant". Southwest Yard & Garden. New Mexico State University. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 Jacobsen, Hermann (1978). A Handbook of Succulent Plants: Descriptions, Synonyms and Cultural Details for Succulents Other Than Cactaceae. Volume III. Mesembryanthemums (Ficoidacea). Poole, Surrey: Blandford Press Ltd. p. 1257.
  4. ↑ Oxford English Dictionary Online, s.v. “Mesembryanthemum, n.” (accessed June 24, 2008).
  5. ↑ Watt, John Mitchell; Breyer-Brandwijk, Maria Gerdina: The Medicinal and Poisonous Plants of Southern and Eastern Africa 2nd ed Pub. E & S Livingstone 1962
  6. ↑ "Results - 1355 plant name records match your search criteria Mesembryanthemum". The Plant List. Retrieved 2017-06-24.
  • Pink, A. (2004). Gardening for the Million. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation.
  • Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
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