The peculiar vegetable known as the ice plant originated in South Africa and received its name from its cold, frosted appearance. The ice plant is a remarkable culinary item because its stems and leaves are covered in tiny crystalline beads of bladder cells packed with salt water. Look at how beautiful it looks in the sun!
The ice plant is a surprisingly adaptable item because it is crunchy, juicy, and has a mildly salty flavor reminiscent of the ocean. It can be consumed raw; the fleshy leaves add a pleasant salty crispiness to salads; or it can be steeped in boiling water to make tea. Use the tough vegetable in your stir-fries with no fear of losing its crunch due to the heat.
The ice plant contains little calories because it is mostly formed of water. The vitamins A, B, and C, mineral salts, and isoflavones—a group of phytochemicals that aid in preventing heart disease, osteoporosis, menopausal symptoms, and breast cancer—are what it is high in. In conclusion, whether you are health aware or not, the ice plant is a terrific complement to any diet.
Ice plant is it salty?
Originally from South Africa, the Ice Plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum) has spread naturally over the world. The extraordinary cells that line this succulent perennial’s aerial surface, which reflect light and shine like ice crystals in the sun, are what give the plant its name. These cells, called epidermal bladder cells (EBC), are modified trichomes, the hair-like structures that are common on plant leaves. On the Ice Plant, however, they resemble water-filled balloons rather than the hairs we are familiar with from tomato or cotton seed leaves (see SEM image below).
When I was pursuing my Ph.D. at the University of Toronto’s Department of Botany, I got attracted not only by the beauty of this plant, but also by its propensity to switch from C3 metabolism to Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) in response to salt stress. By lowering daytime transpiration, this adaptive characteristic enables the plant to conserve water during dry spells or periods of excessive salinity. This is done by plants absorbing carbon dioxide at night and storing it as organic acids to be remobilized for photosynthesis the next day.
Recent research in my lab at Southern Cross University has been focused on clarifying the function of the EBC on the Ice Plant utilizing single-cell type analysis and Omics technologies in partnership with labs at Louisiana State University and UNAM, Mexico. We created a high-throughput method for removing the contents of the cells, which gave us a special understanding of the cellular content. EBC have been known for a while to store sodium and are regarded to be one of the main components in plants’ ability to tolerate salt; however, as these cells can also be seen on plants when they are not under salt stress, it was hypothesized that they must have other functions.
A metabolically active cell with functional chloroplasts that, like the underlying leaf mesophyll cells, is active in CAM has been described by our analyses of the transcriptome, metabolome, and now the proteome and ionome. In addition to accumulating sodium, these cells have molecular traits related to herbivore protection and collect a lot of chloride ions. As we learn more about these cells’ biochemistry, it becomes obvious that they play a significant part in the physiology of the plant.
How are ice plants harvested?
The seedlings can be transferred 20 to 40 days after being sown, when they have 4 to 5 leaves. The ice plant’s growth cycle lasts roughly six months. After transplanting, lateral stems are available for harvesting approximately a month later and are easily cut down with scissors.
How are salty ice plants grown?
Frosts cause common ice plants to perish. In USDA Growing Zones 8 to 11, it thrives. In other areas, you can plant it as an annual.
68F to 86F is the ideal temperature range for salty ice plants. Although it can tolerate low temperatures of 50F, it cannot tolerate frost.
Plant in a greenhouse or cold frames when the weather is cooler or there is even a light frost.
Salty ice plant needs direct sunlight to survive. Any amount of shadow will not allow it to flourish.
Common ice plant doesn’t care where it grows in terms of soil. Keep in mind that it originated from coastal regions, which frequently have hostile environments that most plants can’t thrive in.
As long as the soil drains effectively, it will grow in sandy, loamy, or even clay soil. Obtain a pH of between 6.1 and 7.3.
If grown outside, space the plants about nine inches apart. If grown in pots, feel free to plant closer as long as you keep them trimmed.
When the weather is continuously warm and there is no possibility of a frost, sow seeds outside in the spring.
Planting Seed
I like to space my plants four inches apart and, if required, thin them to six to eight inches apart.
Until they sprout, water them thoroughly. If you can’t monitor the soil to make sure it doesn’t dry out, water well with a watering can and a fine spray. I start with misting spray, but that requires diligence.
Container Planting
Once more, think about growing in big pots. By doing so, you can prevent the plant from spreading and avoid salting your garden soil.
It makes sense to grow crystalline ice plant in pots since it takes over the space where it is planted and adds saline to the soil.
I make use of the largest containers available. I grow the majority of my salty ice plants in half wine barrels. If you don’t mind a lower yield, you can plant in smaller containers.
Use potting soil and make sure the bottom has ample drainage holes. If you discover that the soil is holding on to too much water, drill more.
Water the seeds well after planting them a half-inch deep. Set distances of four to eight inches. You should observe germination in 14 to 21 days. Ice plants have a high rate of germination.
If you are growing outdoors in your garden, you can transplant the seedlings there once they are two inches tall.
Are people poisoned by ice plants?
A prostrate, succulent annual, thin iceplant. Its common name is a result of the salt crystals that formed along the stems during its early development. It favors heavy, saline, deteriorated soils and is more common in the eastern Wheatbelt. Agglomerations of plants can cover many hectares, and individual plants can spread to a diameter of a meter.
In the spring, it bears little white blooms with a golden center. The plant often turns from green to red after seeding, from September to November, before withering.
Other succulent annual weeds that resemble thin iceplant and are occasionally referred to as “iceplant” grow throughout the Wheatbelt. These include Cleretum papulosum and common iceplant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum) (no common name). Although it has not been demonstrated that these plants can poison livestock, they may possess oxalate concentrations that are potentially harmful.
Is ice plant beneficial to health?
The South African soil is continually scorched by the sun. You must have some tricks under your sleeve if you don’t want to pass out from thirst in this place. When it comes to acquiring water, the ice plant is an expert. It grows well on sandy, clayey, and even saline soils where it can cover up to 0.7 square meters under the hot sun. Its green or occasionally brightly red leaves hold the key to its mystery. They have glistening fluid reservoirs all over them that reflect sunlight like ice crystals or dew drops. They are thick and succulent. But how, in such a dry climate, can it gather so much water? Later, we’ll reveal that to you.
The many, radially arranged white to reddish flowers of the biennial to perennial, frost-sensitive ice plant bloom from July to September. This opulence contrasts with the root’s brief length, which gives the impression that it serves more as a means of holding the plant in place than a source of water. The grey-brown seeds are released from the capsules when it is damp outside, but they must ripen in the warmth of their natural environment.
It is claimed that the ice plant has diuretic properties. Written by Samuel Hahnemann
With little proof to back it up, the freshly squeezed juice of the plant (Mesembryanth. crystall.) has been praised for its diuretic, dilutive properties in treating dropsy and strong urine.
Ascites (an buildup of fluid in the abdomen), diarrhea, liver and kidney problems, and pneumonia can all be treated using ice plant. It soothes itchiness, discomfort, edema, and redness of the skin when applied externally.
Greek words mesembria, which means midday, and anthemon, which means flower, combine to form the generic name Mesembryanthemum. The blooms only open when there is intense sunlight, which is normally at noon, hence the generic name and the German name Mittagsblume (noon plant). The strength of our plant is reflected in the family name Aizoazeae, which derives from the Greek word aizoon, which means to live forever.
However, we made a pledge to explain how the ice plant handles such intense temperatures. It accomplishes this by holding its breath all day. Normally, plants absorb carbon dioxide during the day and use sunlight to transform it into sugar and oxygen. The pores on the underside of the leaves allow the plant to breathe, but they also allow water loss. These so-called stomata are therefore shut throughout the day, and the ice plant only breathes at night. The carbon dioxide it absorbs is linked to a molecule and converted the following morning through photosynthesis into sugar and oxygen.
That is not all, though. The ice plant has a quirk that is at first puzzling: salt accumulation. If a typical plant is exposed to too much salt, it will die. This happens every winter when we discover that the vegetation has been harmed by the salt used to clear the icy roadways. However, in coastal regions, if the soil isn’t salty enough, the ice plant will even absorb salt from the air. What is it used for? The salt encourages the plant to produce fruit acids. These also contribute to a natural moisture-retaining component, together with sugar alcohols, a lot of magnesium, and the amino acid proline. Therefore, these elements in our plant actually draw and bind the meager moisture present in its surroundings. Cut branches that don’t begin to dry up for several weeks are a particularly spectacular example of this. The final layer of heat insulation is provided by the red of the leaves. The so-called betacyanins, pigments that absorb light and so offer organic sun protection, are what give the color.
The ice plant leaves behind salty soils wherever it grows because of its high salt content. The earlier practice of planting ice plants to prevent erosion has now mostly been abandoned because this renders the soil unusable for other plants.
The ice plant’s leaves produce a vegetable that resembles spinach. The sour leaves are chewed in South Africa.
On the Canary Islands, soda (sodium carbonate), which is present in significant levels in the ash, was once produced at an ice plant. This is where one of its German names, soda plant, comes from. In fact, a nurse was the one who first recognized the ice plant’s ability to relieve itchiness, pain, swelling, and skin redness. This amazing plant impressed Waltraud Marschke when she was working at the Lanzarote center for anthroposophical therapy on the Canary Islands. After conducting extensive field tests at the ice plant, Nurse Waltraud published her knowledge in 1988, and it has since gained popularity.
The ice plant’s many leaves appear to have all of the characteristics of the whole plant. Their crimson hue resembles that of a flower; the liquid reserves and moisture-retaining properties make up for the root’s short length, which seems to serve more as a means of securing the plant to the ground than as a source of water. The nerve sense organs of people, including the epidermis, are related to the root of the ice plant. The plant combines the root’s functions with the leaf system’s balancing functions, which are related to the human body’s rhythmic functions. Thus, it serves as a role model for skin that is inflamed and, in a sense, under stress.
The hardy ice plant, which has mastered the ability to bind moisture, is the ideal component for:
What is the flavor of ice plant?
Crystals sparkle on the fleshy stalks of the plant that grows on the rocky slopes along Jaffa’s shoreline. The different common names for the plant highlight their similarity to icicles. crystalline ice plant, common ice plant, or just ice plant. As the plant’s natural environment is a small, windswept area close to the Mediterranean, the shimmering “crystals” of Mesembryanthemum crystallinum are actually water vesicles to which sea salt has stuck. They are a natural way for the plant to get rid of excess salt. Season for ice plants is from February to June.
Prof. Amotz Dafni noted in his book “Hadudaim Natnu Reham (University of Haifa Press), a beautiful collection of folklore and medicinal and nutritional benefits for local plants, “Some people grow this plant to utilize its leaves like spinach or as a green in a salad. Due to the habitat of this plant being reduced to make room for new highrises, its flavor has all but disappeared in modern times.
It used to be served in salads and with seafood and fish dishes, but no one knows what it is these days. In several dishes at the Rama’s Kitchen restaurant in Nataf, in the Jerusalem Hills, chef Tomer Niv uses ice plant, which has been rediscovered. A tartare with loquats, green plums, and ice plant stalks; blue crabs with cherry and ice plant gazpacho; salt-baked Jerusalem artichoke with whipped labaneh; and raw grouper sashimi surrounded by a dazzling crown of ice plant leaves are a few examples. Enhancing the flavor of fish and seafood is one of the plant’s primary attributes. It has a crunchy texture and doesn’t overshadow the flavor of the fish or seafood. It also has a fresh, salty, lemony flavor. When eaten by itself, it tastes something like salty water and the crystallization of the salt makes it taste somewhat like oysters.