n.
[NL., fr. Gr. meshmbri`a midday + 'a`nqos flower.]
(Bot.) A genus of herbaceous or suffruticose plants, chiefly natives of South Africa. The leaves are opposite, thick, and fleshy. The flowers usually open about midday, whence the name.
Mesembryanthemum
| Dictionary: Me·sem·bry·an·the·mum |
n.
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| Veterinary Dictionary: Mesembryanthemum |
African genus of succulent plants in family Aizoaceae; includes M. nodiflorum, M. crystallinum; toxin is soluble oxalates characterized by occurrence of nephrosis, urolithiasis; called also pigface.
| Annuals Dictionary: Mesembryanthemum |
Carpetweed family
Aizoaceae
Me-sem-bri-an'thee-mum. Fig-marigold . Originally, the fig-marigolds made up a huge genus, but over the past 100 years, they have been divided into several separate genera. Mesembryanthemum contains the original species described by Linnaeus and 40-50 other species, the one below most widely grown.
Description
Leaves alternate or opposite, nearly cylindrical, some flecked with glistening specks. Flowers generally large and showy, often daisylike because of the great number of petals and stamens, mostly white, red, or yellow. Calyx tubular, with 4-5 rather leafy lobes.
How to Grow
Although best suited to dry soils and arid western climates, the species below will give 4-6 weeks of color in cool climates if grown in poor soil. Start early indoors in sandy potting soil to get good-sized plants for setting out in a sunny garden after the danger of frost is past. Prefers cool weather.
Mesembryanthemum crystallinum
Ice Plant
;
Sea Fig
;
Sea Marigold
. Prostrate, to 2 ft. (60 cm) long, fleshy, ovalish leaves. Flowers nearly stalkless, white or pale pink, ¾-1 ƈ in. (2-3 cm) wide. Grown for its glistening foliage. Naturalized along the Calif. coast. Tender annual.
| Word Tutor: Mesembryanthemum |
IN BRIEF: n. - South African annual or biennial plants having flowers that open only in bright sunlight.
| Wikipedia: Mesembryanthemum |
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2009) |
| Mesembryanthemum | |
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| Mesembryanthemum crystallinum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Division: | Magnoliophyta |
| Class: | Magnoliopsida |
| (unranked): | Core eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Aizoaceae |
| Subfamily: | Mesembryanthemoideae |
| Genus: | Mesembryanthemum L. |
| Species | |
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Several, see text. |
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| Synonyms | |
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Mesembrianthemum (lapsus) |
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Mesembryanthemum (meaning "midday flowering") is a genus of plants native to southern Africa. Many species which were formerly placed herein have since been moved into other genera such as Carpobrotus Sceletium is sometimes included here.
Fig marigold or Icicle plant is a name for any of several South African taxa of Mesembryanthemum which are cultivated as ornamental plants for their showy pink or white flowers. "Pebble plant" or "Ice plant" are other but rather ambiguous common names, usually referring to other Aizoaceae.
Contents |
Mesembryanthemum is a member of the family Aizoaceae; many members of this family including the present genus are characterized by long lasting flower heads. Flowers of Mesembryanthemum protect their gametes from night-time dews or frosts but open in sunlight. There is obviously the evolutionary advantage of 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.
Ornamental Mesembryanthemum may escape into the wild and consequently has become widely naturalized outside their native range. They are considered an invasive weed in certain places. Some species are hallucinogenic plants[citation needed] and as such may be subject to legal restrictions (e.g. Louisiana State Act 159).
Name
Jacob Breyne coined the name of the flower in 1684, using the spelling Mesembrianthemum, from the Greek roots μεσημβρία, meaning "noon", and ἄνθεμον, 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", rederiving the first part of the word from Greek μεσος ("middle") and ἔμβρυον ("rudimentary fruit" or "embryo").[1]
Selected species
- Mesembryanthemum cordifolium
- Mesembryanthemum crystallinum
- Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum
- Mesembryanthemum salmii
See also
Notes and References
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary Online, s.v. “Mesembryanthemum, n.” (accessed June 24, 2008).
- Pink, A. (2004). Gardening for the Million. Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/11892.
- Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
External links
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 | Dictionary. Webster 1913 Dictionary edited by Patrick J. Cassidy Read more |
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| Veterinary Dictionary. Saunders Comprehensive Veterinary Dictionary 3rd Edition. Copyright © 2007 by D.C. Blood, V.P. Studdert and C.C. Gay, Elsevier. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Annuals Dictionary. Taylor's Guide for Annuals, by Norman Taylor, revised and edited by Gordon P. DeWolf, Jr. Copyright © 1986 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. Read more |
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| Word Tutor. Copyright © 2004-present by eSpindle Learning, a 501(c) nonprofit organization. All rights reserved. eSpindle provides personalized spelling and vocabulary tutoring online; free trial. Read more |
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| Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Mesembryanthemum". Read more |
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