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''Mesembryanthemum'' is a
genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
of
flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...
s in the
family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Aizoaceae The Aizoaceae, or fig-marigold family, is a large family of dicotyledonous flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is d ...
; like many members of this family, it is characterized by long-lasting flower heads. Flowers of ''Mesembryanthemum'' protect their
gamete A gamete (; , ultimately ) is a haploid cell that fuses with another haploid cell during fertilization in organisms that reproduce sexually. Gametes are an organism's reproductive cells, also referred to as sex cells. In species that produce t ...
s from night-time dews or frosts but open in sunlight. There is an obvious
evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
ary advantage to doing this; where
sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared radi ...
,
dew Dew is water in the form of droplets that appears on thin, exposed objects in the morning or evening due to condensation. As the exposed surface cools by radiating its heat, atmospheric moisture condenses at a rate greater than that at wh ...
,
frost Frost is a thin layer of ice on a solid surface, which forms from water vapor in an above-freezing atmosphere coming in contact with a solid surface whose temperature is below freezing, and resulting in a phase change from water vapor (a gas) ...
, wind or
predator Predation is a biological interaction where one organism, the predator, kills and eats another organism, its prey. It is one of a family of common feeding behaviours that includes parasitism and micropredation (which usually do not kill th ...
s are likely to damage exposed
reproductive organs A sex organ (or reproductive organ) is any part of an animal or plant that is involved in sexual reproduction. The reproductive organs together constitute the reproductive system. In animals, the testis in the male, and the ovary in the female, a ...
, closing may be advantageous during times when flowers are unlikely to attract
pollinator A pollinator is an animal that moves pollen from the male anther of a flower to the female stigma of a flower. This helps to bring about fertilization of the ovules in the flower by the male gametes from the pollen grains. Insects are the maj ...
s. It is
indigenous Indigenous may refer to: *Indigenous peoples *Indigenous (ecology), presence in a region as the result of only natural processes, with no human intervention *Indigenous (band), an American blues-rock band *Indigenous (horse), a Hong Kong racehorse ...
to southern Africa. 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 South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
, Mesembryanthemums are known as "vygies" (from
Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
"vy"), although this term refers to many plants in the family Aizoaceae.
Species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
formerly placed in ''Mesembryanthemum'' have been transferred to other genera, such as ''
Cleretum ''Cleretum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Aizoaceae, native to the Cape Provinces of South Africa. Taxonomy The genus ''Cleretum'' was erected by Nicholas Edward Brown in 1925. He published the name in a key, basing the diagnosis ...
'', '' Carpobrotus'' and ''
Sceletium Sceletium tortuosum is a succulent plant commonly found in South Africa, which is also known as Kanna, Channa, Kougoed (Kauwgoed/ 'kougoed', prepared from 'fermenting' ''S. tortuosum'')—which literally means, 'chew(able) things' or 'somethin ...
'', although sources differ.


Etymology

Jacob Breyne Jacob Breyne (14 January 1637 – 25 January 1697) was a Polish merchant, naturalist, and artist, born in Gdańsk, Danzig (Gdańsk), Royal Prussia (a fief of the Crown of Poland). He was the father of Johann Philipp Breyne. Biography Breyne was in ...
coined the name of the flower in 1684, using the spelling ''Mesembrianthemum'' ("midday flower"), from the
Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
roots , meaning "noon", and , 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 Johann Jacob Dillen Dillenius (1684 – 2 April 1747) was a German botanist. He is known for his ''Hortus Elthamensis'' ("Eltham Garden") on the rare plants around Eltham, London, and for his ''Historia muscorum'' ("History of Mosses"), a natur ...
changed the spelling to ''Mesembryanthemum'' ("flower with the pistil in the center"), rederiving the first part of the word from Greek ("middle") and ("
pistil Gynoecium (; ) is most commonly used as a collective term for the parts of a flower that produce ovules and ultimately develop into the fruit and seeds. The gynoecium is the innermost whorl of a flower; it consists of (one or more) ''pistils'' ...
" or "
embryo An embryo is an initial stage of development of a multicellular organism. In organisms that reproduce sexually, embryonic development is the part of the life cycle that begins just after fertilization of the female egg cell by the male spe ...
").
Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
used the Dillenius spelling (with the "y") in his description of the ''Mesembryanthemum'' species and the
International Code of Botanical Nomenclature The ''International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants'' (ICN) is the set of rules and recommendations dealing with the formal botanical names that are given to plants, fungi and a few other groups of organisms, all those "trad ...
requires the retention of the original, deliberate spelling.Oxford English Dictionary Online, s.v.
Mesembryanthemum, n.
(accessed June 24, 2008).


Uses

Mesembryanthemums are often cultivated as
ornamental plant Ornamental plants or garden plants are plants that are primarily grown for their beauty but also for qualities such as scent or how they shape physical space. Many flowering plants and garden varieties tend to be specially bred cultivars that i ...
s 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 An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...
in certain places.


Culture and society

Some ''Mesembryanthemum'' species are thought to be
hallucinogenic plants Psychoactive plants are plants, or preparations thereof, that upon ingestion induce psychotropic effects. As stated in a reference work: Psychoactivity may include sedative, stimulant, euphoric, deliriant, and hallucinogenic effects. Several ...
, like related
Aizoaceae The Aizoaceae, or fig-marigold family, is a large family of dicotyledonous flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is d ...
,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 Signed into law June 28, 2005, and effective August 8, 2005, Louisiana State Act No 159 found in, Louisiana RS 40:989.1, outlawed the cultivation, possession or sale of 40 named plants defined as hallucinogenic in the state of Louisiana, US. House ...
).


Species

,
Plants of the World Online Plants of the World Online (POWO) is an online database published by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. It was launched in March 2017 with the ultimate aim being "to enable users to access information on all the world's known seed-bearing plants by ...
accepted the following species: *''
Mesembryanthemum aitonis ''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 ...
'' Jacq. *''
Mesembryanthemum alatum ''Mesembryanthemum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Aizoaceae; like many members of this family, it is characterized by long-lasting flower heads. Flowers of ''Mesembryanthemum'' protect their gametes from night-ti ...
'' (L.Bolus) L.Bolus *'' Mesembryanthemum amabile'' (Gerbaulet & Struck) Klak *''
Mesembryanthemum amplectens ''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 ...
'' 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 ''Mesembryanthemum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Aizoaceae; like many members of this family, it is characterized by long-lasting flower heads. Flowers of ''Mesembryanthemum'' protect their gametes from night-ti ...
'' Sond. *'' Mesembryanthemum brevicarpum'' (L.Bolus) Klak *''
Mesembryanthemum bulletrapense ''Mesembryanthemum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Aizoaceae; like many members of this family, it is characterized by long-lasting flower heads. Flowers of ''Mesembryanthemum'' protect their gametes from night-ti ...
'' Klak *'' Mesembryanthemum canaliculatum'' Haw. *''
Mesembryanthemum caudatum ''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 ...
'' L.Bolus *'' Mesembryanthemum chrysophthalmum'' (Gerbaulet & Struck) Klak *'' Mesembryanthemum clandestinum'' Haw. *'' Mesembryanthemum corallinum'' Thunb. *''
Mesembryanthemum cordifolium ''Mesembryanthemum cordifolium'' formerly known as ''Aptenia cordifolia'' is a species of succulent plant in the iceplant family. It is a creeping plant that forms a carpet of flat-growing perennial herbs in groups on the ground from a base. Gen ...
'' L.f. *''
Mesembryanthemum coriarium ''Mesembryanthemum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Aizoaceae; like many members of this family, it is characterized by long-lasting flower heads. Flowers of ''Mesembryanthemum'' protect their gametes from night-ti ...
'' Burch. *''
Mesembryanthemum crassicaule ''Mesembryanthemum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Aizoaceae; like many members of this family, it is characterized by long-lasting flower heads. Flowers of ''Mesembryanthemum'' protect their gametes from night-ti ...
'' Haw. *'' Mesembryanthemum cryptanthum'' Hook.f. *''
Mesembryanthemum crystallinum ''Mesembryanthemum crystallinum'' is a prostrate succulent plant native to Africa, Sinai and southern Europe, and naturalized in the New World. The plant is covered with large, glistening bladder cells or water vesicles, reflected in its common n ...
'' L. *''
Mesembryanthemum deciduum ''Mesembryanthemum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Aizoaceae; like many members of this family, it is characterized by long-lasting flower heads. Flowers of ''Mesembryanthemum'' protect their gametes from night-ti ...
'' (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 ''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 ...
'' Haw. *'' Mesembryanthemum grossum'' Aiton *'' Mesembryanthemum guerichianum'' Pax *'' Mesembryanthemum haeckelianum'' A.Berger *'' Mesembryanthemum holense'' Klak *''
Mesembryanthemum hypertrophicum ''Mesembryanthemum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Aizoaceae; like many members of this family, it is characterized by long-lasting flower heads. Flowers of ''Mesembryanthemum'' protect their gametes from night-ti ...
'' 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 ''Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum'' is a species of succulent plant in the genus ''Mesembryanthemum'' known by the common name slenderleaf iceplant. It is the type species for the genus. It is native to coastal areas of the Mediterranean Basin, Mac ...
'' L. *'' Mesembryanthemum nucifer'' (Ihlenf. & Bittrich) Klak *'' Mesembryanthemum occidentale'' Klak *''
Mesembryanthemum oculatum ''Mesembryanthemum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Aizoaceae; like many members of this family, it is characterized by long-lasting flower heads. Flowers of ''Mesembryanthemum'' protect their gametes from night-ti ...
'' 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 ''Mesembryanthemum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Aizoaceae; like many members of this family, it is characterized by long-lasting flower heads. Flowers of ''Mesembryanthemum'' protect their gametes from night-ti ...
'' (L.Bolus) Klak *'' Mesembryanthemum rapaceum'' Jacq. *'' Mesembryanthemum resurgens'' Kensit *'' Mesembryanthemum rhizophorum'' Klak *'' Mesembryanthemum salicornioides'' Pax *'' Mesembryanthemum schenckii'' Schinz *'' Mesembryanthemum schlichtianum'' Sond. *''
Mesembryanthemum serotinum ''Mesembryanthemum'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family (biology), family Aizoaceae; like many members of this family, it is characterized by long-lasting flower heads. Flowers of ''Mesembryanthemum'' protect their gametes from night-ti ...
'' (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 ''Mesembryanthemum tortuosum'' (many synonyms, including ''Sceletium tortuosum'') is a succulent plant in the family Aizoaceae native to the Cape Provinces of South Africa. It is known as kanna, channa, kougoed (kauwgoed/ 'kougoed', prepared fro ...
'' L. *'' Mesembryanthemum trichotomum'' Thunb. *'' Mesembryanthemum vaginatum'' Lam. *'' Mesembryanthemum vanheerdei'' (L.Bolus) Klak *'' Mesembryanthemum vanrensburgii'' (L.Bolus) Klak *'' Mesembryanthemum varians'' Haw. *'' Mesembryanthemum viridiflorum'' Aiton


Gallery

File:Mesembryanthemum crystallinum 1983-2.JPG, '' M. crystallinum'' File:Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum kz7.JPG, '' M. nodiflorum''


Legal status


United States


Louisiana

Except for ornamental purposes, growing, selling or possessing any species of ''Mesembryanthemum'' is prohibited by
Louisiana State Act 159 Signed into law June 28, 2005, and effective August 8, 2005, Louisiana State Act No 159 found in, Louisiana RS 40:989.1, outlawed the cultivation, possession or sale of 40 named plants defined as hallucinogenic in the state of Louisiana, US. House ...
.


See also

*
N. E. Brown Nicholas Edward Brown (11 July 1849 in Redhill, Surrey – 25 November 1934 in Kew Gardens, London) was an English plant taxonomist and authority on succulents. He was also an authority on several families of plants, including Asclepiadacea ...
* The botanical family
Aizoaceae The Aizoaceae, or fig-marigold family, is a large family of dicotyledonous flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is d ...
, also called
Mesembryanthemaceae The Aizoaceae, or fig-marigold family, is a large Family (biology), family of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing 135 genus, genera and about 1800 species. They are commonly known as ice plants or carpet weeds. They are often called vygies ...


Notes and references

* *
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary ''Webster's Dictionary'' is any of the English language dictionaries edited in the early 19th century by American lexicographer Noah Webster (1758–1843), as well as numerous related or unrelated dictionaries that have adopted the Webster's n ...
(1913)


External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1922381 Aizoaceae genera Flora of South Africa Fynbos Succulent plants Barilla plants