FIG MARIGOLD (Mesembryanthemum cequilaterale, Haw.). 

 Flowers red or pink, 1 to 2 inches in diameter, with very numer- 

 ous linear petals surrounding a ring of countless stamens, which 

 in turn enclose a cluster of several styles. A stout perennial 

 with long trailing stems, bearing curious, fleshy, three-sided 

 leaves 2 to 3 inches long, without petioles. Common along the 

 California Coast from San Francisco to San Diego, of ten covering 

 large areas with its matted stems and hanging over the faces 

 of seaward-facing cliffs. It is found also on the Chilean Coast 

 and in Australasia. In fact some botanists have thought that 

 our plant is not native Californian at all, but imported. 



The name Mesembryanthemum is at first sight such a stag- 

 gering mouthful that timid people are afraid to try to pro- 

 nounce it. If undertaken bravely and carefully, however, it 

 will be found no whit harder than Chrysanthemum, which 

 everybody carries off debonairly enough. As there are about 

 300 species in the world (mostly South African) the name is 

 worth acquiring. The word means "Mid-day flower," be- 

 cause the blossoms open only in the sun. The pulpy 

 fruit is edible, somewhat like a small fig (suggesting the com- 

 mon name), and folk who have been more fortunate than I 

 in finding it in condition, say it is palatable. 

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