Mesembryanthemum Crystallinum

The ice plant, so called in consequence of every part of the plant being covered with small watery pustules, which glisten in the sun like fragments of ice. Large quantities of this plant are collected in the Canaries and burned, the ashes being sent



to Spain for the use of glass makers. _M. edule_ is called the Hottentot's fig, its fruit being about the size of a small fig, and having a pleasant, acid taste when ripe. _M. tortuosum_ possesses narcotic properties, and is chewed by the Hottentots to induce intoxication. The fruits possess hygrometric properties, the dried, shriveled, capsules swelling out and opening so as to allow of the escape of the seeds when moistened by rain, which at the same time fits the soil for their germination.

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