Seasonal Wild Flowers

Latin name

Drosanthemum floribundum

Other names

Rosea Ice Plant

Family

Aizoaceae

Flowering season

March to August

English distribution

It is found mainly in the West Country and the Isles

of Scilly.

See the BSBI distribution map for Pale Dewplant

Habitat

It is a neophyte which was introduced into the UK from

South Africa in the early 1700s and was first seen in

the wild in Cornwall.in the 1920s. It is naturalised by

the coast on walls, rocks and cliffs.

It has been used to stabilise and conserve soils.

Description

Pale Dewplant is a perennial, prostrate, trailing and

carpet-forming, shrub growing up to 80cm.

Flowers are up to 2.5cm across with numerous pink/lilac

narrow.petals.

There are numerous white stamens and 5 long,

brown-green stigmas.

The fruits are hard, red-brown 5-part capsules.

Leaves are succulent and almost cylindrical. They are

covered in small papillae, which give the leaves a grey

sheen - hence the ice plant tag.

Stems are thin, prostrate and woody at the base.

It spreads via rooting stem fragments.