The weather is warming up and it is beginning to feel like summer. So I went to the beach a few days ago, and went for a walk to see what interesting things I could find. I found that the ice plant was in bloom. So today I'm sharing with you some photos of ice plant and its flowers. I don't know why its called ice plant, its an odd name.
Ice plant is a succulent that grows on coastal rocks, cliffs and sand dunes.
There are two species of ice plant in New Zealand - the native Disphyma australe and the introduced Carpobrotus edulis.
I think these photos are of C. edulis. C. edulis has leaves about 7 cm long while the native D. australe has leaves about 4 cm long.
C. edulis, also known as the Hottentot fig, was introduced to New Zealand (and other parts of the world) from South Africa.
The ice plant (both varieties) are edible. One can eat the fruits and the pickled leaves.
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| This is a flower bud, not a fruit! I didn't see any fruits. |
The fruits are apparently (according to Andrew Crowe in his book "A field guide to native edible plants of New Zealand") quite salty, but the inner part is sweeter and more palatable, but has a rather slimey texture.
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| The flowers come in yellow as well as pink |
Maybe I should give them a try sometime...
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| The flowers seem popular with the bumble bees |
C. edulis was planted on sand dunes in order to help stabilise them, but has since gone wild.
According to www.biosecurity.govt.nz C. edulis is now considered an 'unwanted organism', because it displaces other sand dune plants and hybridises with the native ice plant species.
It is a pity that C. edulis is becoming a pest, because it is such a pretty plant.
I'll share some of the other interesting things I found on my walk at the beach soon.
Very pretty! They look like they belong in Arizona. We have something called "Hens and chicks", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sempervivum ... the hens are the mature plants and the chicks are the runners. I don't think they get flowers on them though.
ReplyDeleteThanks Nina, very interesting. I'm sure I've seen them in people's gardens here too, though never knew what they were!
ReplyDeletethanks for the useful post,i used to eat the leaves when i was little kid, i remember the sour or tangy taste of em
ReplyDeletei wonder what are the health benefits of the folowers
i came to a conclusion that all flowers have an effect on the mood and the brain
and nerves,
as the mind is our flower on the body, that flowerish all what we are, so the plant flowers are affecting exactly on the same level
thanks again
That is neat you used to eat the leaves, samuel79. I don't know what the health benefits are, but you are right, it would be interesting to know. Maybe I'll see if I can find out.
ReplyDelete