Mesembryanthemum

''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, "... they sparkle like ice crystals". In South Africa, Mesembryanthemums are known as "vygies" (from Afrikaans "vy"), although this term refers to many plants in the family Aizoaceae.

Species formerly placed in ''Mesembryanthemum'' have been transferred to other genera, such as ''Cleretum'', '' Carpobrotus'' and ''Sceletium'', 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 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"), 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).

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 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

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.

See also

* N. E. Brown
* The botanical family Aizoaceae, also called Mesembryanthemaceae

Notes and references

*
*Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1922381

Aizoaceae genera
Flora of South Africa
Fynbos
Succulent plants
Barilla plants