Common Iceplant

Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L. Sp. PI. 480. 1753
Cryophylum crystallinum N. E. Brown; E. P. Phillips, Gen. S. Afr. PI. 245. 1926.
A procumbent, much-branched, succulent herb; leaves opposite, or on the branches alternate, the blades flat, undulate, obovate to broadly spatulate or sometimes ovate, the upper 1.5-4 cm. long, 0.7-3.5 cm. broad, tapering to a clasping base, the lower 5-12 cm. long, 4—7 cm. broad, petioled; flowers axillary, subsessile or short-peduncled, 1.3-2 cm. broad; calyx-tube campanulate, about 6-10 mm. in diameter, the lobes ovate; petals pinkish or white, spreading; carpels 5; capsule about 0.8-1 cm. high, 7-9 mm. in diameter; seeds blackish-brown, 0.9-1 mm. in diameter, minutely tuberculate.
Type locality: Africa.
Distribution: Naturalized in California and Lower California, and on adjacent islands; sometimes found on ballast in eastern United States. Also introduced into South America, Greece, northern Africa, and Australia, Native of South Africa.