Baby Sun Rose (Mesembryanthemum cordifolium)
Meet Baby Sun Rose (Mesembryanthemum cordifolium), an easy-care ornamental, succulent, groundcover plant A herbaceous perennial creeper from the ice-plant family Aizoaceae, that is native to South Africa. The plant thrives in hot, dry, sunny areas. it is a very low growing groundcover, hugging the ground and blooms around most of the year.
The fleshy, small leaves are opposite, ovate to cordate, and the small, bright pink, solitary flowers look like miniature asters. The colored whorls of these flowers are not petals, but non-functional modified stamens. Normal stamens are yellow. The most common variety has bright red blossoms, but it's also available with golden yellow blooms. The fruit is a capsule.
The blossoms aren't elaborately showy since they're so small...but they have the added benefit of attracting butterflies and hummingbirds.
These plants shine as groundcovers for smaller areas and as rock garden plants. This is one groundcover that stays very flat and grows at a slow to moderate pace. Both drought tolerant and salt tolerant, these make excellent beachside plantings.
MEDICINAL USE
The leaves are applied as a poultice on wounds. It is also used as a gentle enema for babies.
ETYMOLOGY
Genus name means middle-embryo flower in reference to the position of the ovary in the flower. The specific epithet is derived from Latin for heart-shaped leaves
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