Ice Plant; The Best of Intentions Gone Awry


Sea Fig
How many times in life do we do things with the best of intentions, only to find ourselves knee-deep in something less than desirable, and definitely not expected? Where wildflowers are concerned, this means non-native species. (Whew. I bet ya thought we had tuned in to the Philosophy Channel.) Something lovely like Purple Loosestrife escapes a New England garden and spreads inexorably across the eastern U.S., choking out native flora, thus chasing away the native fauna. Boastful yellow bushy Scotch Broom, planted along the highways and byways of the Pacific Northwest, crowds out the native flora to such an extent, it is now considered a noxious weed.

Another non-native species, which may or may not be another example of the best of intentions gone awry, is Ice Plant, or more precisely Sea Fig (Carpobrotus chilensis) and Hottentot Fig (C. edulis). Both are also known as Ice Plant. And both have been planted along Pacific coast roads and highways to prevent erosion.

Ice Plant - both of 'em - belong to the Ice Plant Family (Aizoaceae), of which there are about 2,500 species, mostly in South Africa. Those in North America are found primarily along the west coast. The obvious difference between Sea Fig and Hottentot Fig are the flowers. Sea Fig flowers are reddish-lavender while those of Hottentot Fig are Yellow, turning pink as they age. (Don't we all?)

Sea Fig can be found from southern Oregon into Mexico. The flower heads are up to 2 1/2" wide with numerous, very narrow petals. The succulent leaves get up to 3" long. They are straight, mostly opposite, and roundly triangular in cross-section. The outer angle of the leaves is smooth.

The flowers usually bloom from spring till autumn, but I have seen them (both) blooming in January at Point Reyes National Seashore. The fruit is green and fleshy and plump, with 8 to 10 see chambers. And it is edible.

The entire plant grows out rather than a up, a creeper with trailing stems up to 6' long. The flowering branches are up to 5" long.

Hottentot Fig is nearly identical, particularly if you aren't really trying. The flowers, in addition to being a different color, are larger, up 4" wide. The leaves are more sharply triangular, and the outer angle is covered with fine teeth. Its green fruit turns yellow as it ripens, and is also edible. Its flowering branches and trailing stems both are typically longer than those of Sea Fig. It grows from California south to Mexico.

With their creeping and succulent leaves and brightly colored, showy flowers, they do

The copyright of the article Ice Plant; The Best of Intentions Gone Awry in North American Wildflowers is owned by Gregg Pasterick. Permission to republish Ice Plant; The Best of Intentions Gone Awry in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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