Mesembryanthemum crystallinum is a plant annual, biennial or perennial depending on environmental conditions. It is also called crystalline ice plant or ice plant , due to its epidermal cells which seems like water-drops.
M. crystallinum develops in a wide variety of soils from sandy to loamy and, in poor, fertile or even in saline.
All parts of the plant are covered by small, transparent, membranous vesicles, giving the impression of dewdrops.
The flowers are white, small, open during the day and closed at night .
They bloom from spring to summer and are pollinated by bees.