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Post by castanea on Jan 24, 2011 21:18:25 GMT -5
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Post by ottawagardener on Jan 24, 2011 22:06:17 GMT -5
I know it under the name: Mesembryanthemum crystallinum L. and haven't obtained any seeds yet. I've seen it growing though and it looks very tasty.
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Post by garnetmoth on Jan 24, 2011 22:21:22 GMT -5
that is very pretty. Any idea on oxalate content?
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Post by castanea on Jan 24, 2011 22:56:39 GMT -5
that is very pretty. Any idea on oxalate content? I don't know. Some of the other Mesembryanthemums have significant oxalate content. I'm not worried about this one though because it's not the kind of green that most would ever eat in quantity. |
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Post by orflo on Jan 25, 2011 3:51:47 GMT -5
It's a bit of a must in my garden every year. I never grow out a lot of plants, 7-10 or so, they're quite productive and they are a nice addition to any salad. The leaves can grow quite big (7-8 cms.) and are thick. They're very juicy and there's a slight acidic taste to them, just enough to make them very enjoyable.  The plants cover the ground, and they take up a small space, I place them about 30 cms (1 ft) from each other, and they soon cover the ground. They're not fussy about soil nor about rain and they stand dryness as well. They flower every year, but the season is too short to produce seeds over here, unless I place them in the greenhouse.  |
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Post by ottawagardener on Jan 25, 2011 6:43:09 GMT -5
They really are very pretty.
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Post by lmonty on Jan 25, 2011 7:04:16 GMT -5
that is a beautiful plant. i've never heard of it or seen anything like it, it looks like a seaweed instead of a land plant! can you please share where i could buy the seed? looks like something unique i would love to try.
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Post by orflo on Jan 27, 2011 14:03:12 GMT -5
I really don't know where you could buy seeds in the US, but there must be some seed firms that have the species. A member of the same family is the hottentot fig (carpobrotus edulis), or ice plant (the Flemmish name for ficoide glaciale is in fact ice plant, but that could create some confusion). I tried it a few years ago, it comes from South Africa, and thus it requires a mild climate. It didn't produce a single fig over here, and didn't survive the winter, thus I can't say anything about the taste. I saw it in a wild form on a New Zealand coast area, up north. It should be wild in some parts of California as well. I once read that's it's wild on some coasts of the UK as well, but seeing the low frost resistance over here, I have some doubts about that. Can anyone confirm this?  |
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Post by stevil on Jan 27, 2011 17:06:01 GMT -5
Frank: Have a look at this map - it is quite widespread it seems in the UK www.bsbimaps.org.uk/atlas/map_page.php?spid=429.0&sppname=Carpobrotus edulis&commname=Hottentot-fig I wonder if the recent cold winters has had an impact? If you back up you'll see that there are 3 species of Carpobrotus found in the UK. I have pictures of Carpobrotus rossii (called Pigfaces) taken years ago in Tasmania. |
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Post by canadamike on Jan 29, 2011 22:27:04 GMT -5
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Post by raymondo on Feb 7, 2011 16:15:24 GMT -5
A local species, Carpobrotus glaucescens, grows along the coast in my state, in sand dunes mostly. The fruits are both sweet and salty, quite unusual but pleasant. I've grown another local one, C. rossii, at home but it struggles, even through my relatively mild winters (occasional lows of -15°C), and last year my one plant succumbed completely without ever setting fruit.
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Post by 12540dumont on Jun 10, 2012 17:59:55 GMT -5
Okay, what's wrong with it? All the photos show green icy looking plants. Yeah, I know, it needs weeding, but Steev is in the hammock and Leo's on the tiller, and I'm harvesting seeds. Attachments:
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Post by castanea on Jun 10, 2012 18:31:48 GMT -5
that is a beautiful plant. i've never heard of it or seen anything like it, it looks like a seaweed instead of a land plant! can you please share where i could buy the seed? looks like something unique i would love to try. These folks in France will ship to the US: frenchgardening.com/item.html?pid=seve41 |
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