A crystal in the rough

Related to Livingstone daisies, crystal leaf ice plant is an unusual edible.

Many readers will recall the salads of their childhoods as consisting of chopped lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, radishes and maybe a spring onion or two. Dressing was a combination of condensed milk, malt vinegar and a pinch of mustard powder.

Salads have changed greatly, particularly in their green content, as gardeners look for more interesting vegetables to add variety to the salad bowl in summer.

A rare one to try is crystal leaf ice plant (Mesembryanthemum crystallinum).

WHAT IS IT?

An African perennial usually grown as an annual, crystal leaf ice plant gets its name from the salty ‘beads’ that glitter in the sun.

A coastal plant with fleshy leaves, it has become an environmental weed in parts of Australia, where it is gathered as bush tucker.

A member of the same family as the Livingstone daisy (Cleretum bellidiforme), it has similar blooms, but these are greenish white, not the flamboyant shades of the flower garden. The yellow-flowered coastal weed, Carpobrotus edulis, introduced into

New Zealand in the 1880s, also belongs to the same family.

GROWING CRYSTAL LEAF

A good choice for coastal gardens because of its high tolerance to salt, M. crystallinum is not, as some writers claim, a hardy plant; it dies as soon as frost strikes. Those who grow

Livingstone daisies can take the same approach to crystal leaf, sowing it in seed trays and planting out seedlings when Jack Frost has departed. It is drought-tolerant, doesn’t mind poor soils – although some rotted seaweed will encourage it – and does best in full sun. Shade is anathema to this plant. After transplanting, plants will be ready to harvest in six to eight weeks.

IN THE KITCHEN

Being mostly water, crystal leaf is a lowcalorie food that is rich in minerals and vitamins. It can be eaten raw in salads or used as a substitute for spinach – but don’t salt the water if boiling it, as the leaves are already salty, thanks to those ‘beads’ (bladder cells).

M. crystallinum is used in Asian food, in stir-fries or deep-fried for tempura.

A tea can be made by steeping the leaves in hot water.

OTHER USES

The minerals and vitamins A, B and C in crystal leaf have seen it promoted as a cure for or for treatment of fever, colds, tuberculosis and even glaucoma.

It is also said to improve cardiovascular health, prevent high blood pressure and lower cholesterol.

For a summer salad, M. crystallinum is unlikely to replace the traditional lettuce, but it is a tasty ingredient to enhance it.

Thanks to Kings Seeds, which supplied seed to the writer to trial crystal leaf ice plant.