Delosperma nubigenum

Delosperma nubigenum from Lesotho, grows at altitudes above three thousand meters and can survive frost and snow, inspiring breeding programs that produced the cold-hardy “Jewel of Desert” hybrids now common in temperate gardens.

The name Delosperma, meaning “visible seed” in Greek, refers to the transparent membranes of its fruit capsules through which the seeds can be seen.

Early European botanists were fascinated by the plants’ glistening leaves, believing that the crystals might be salt or even frozen dew, hence the enduring common name “ice plant.”

Modern botanists, however, value Delosperma for different reasons: the mechanical elegance of its seed capsules, which move with changes in humidity without any living tissue, offering insights into natural materials engineering.

Delosperma is a genus of succulent perennials belonging to the Aizoaceae, the ice plant family.

Native to southern and eastern Africa, these plants thrive in arid and semi-arid landscapes, from the rocky slopes of South Africa’s Cape provinces to the high mountains of Lesotho and Ethiopia.

They form low, spreading mats or cushions, rooting along the stems as they creep across the ground.

The leaves are opposite, fleshy, and usually cylindrical or triangular in cross-section.

Under sunlight their surfaces glisten because of epidermal bladder cells filled with water; these translucent cells scatter light and give the plants their characteristic icy sparkle while serving as miniature reservoirs that reduce water loss and leaf temperature.

Other Names

Trailing iceplant

Pink carpet

Hardy Ice Plant