CARPET-WEED FAMILY. Aizoaceae. 
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CARPET-WEED FAMILY. AjZzoaceae. 
Not a very large family, mostly natives of warm regions. 
Ours are branching herbs, lying mostly on the ground; 
leaves mostly opposite or in whorls; flowers perfect; sepals 
four or five; petals numerous, small or none; stamens few 
or many, usually on the calyx; ovary ’sometimes superior; 
fruit a capsule. In this country most of this family are 
dull little plants, with inconspicuous flowers. 
There are many kinds of Mesembryanthemum, mostly 
African; ours are smooth, very succulent perennials; 
without stipules; leaves opposite; calyx-lobes unequal and 
leaf-like; petals long, narrow and very numerous, inserted 
with the innumerable stamens on the calyx-tube; ovary 
with ten or twelve styles, becoming a sort of berry, con- 
taining many minute seeds, and opening at the top in 
rainy weather. The terribly long name is from the Greek, 
meaning ‘‘noonday flower.”’ 
One of the queerest looking plants that 
; it is possible to imagine, the stout stems 
Mesembrydnthe- : 
mum crystéllinum @nd large flat leaves thickly encrusted 
White, pinkish with millions of small translucent beads, 
Spring resembling glass or ice and giving a 
oe glistening effect to the whole plant. They 
cluster especially thickly along the wavy margins and under 
sides of the leaves, and on the calyxes, and feel quite hard 
to the touch, but when they are crushed underfoot they 
exude a watery juice, which is said to be alkaline and 
injurious to shoe-leather. The stems and leaves are light 
bright-green, the tips and margins tinged with bright 
pinkish-red, especially on dry mesas, where this plant 
sometimes covers the ground for long distances with flat 
rosettes, forming a thick, red carpet, beautiful in color. 
In shadier, damper places, such as the crevices in the sea- 
cliffs at La Jolla, it becomes quite a large, tall plant, 
Ice-plant 
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