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Delosperma cooperi (syn. Mesembryanthemum cooperi; common names Trailing Iceplant, Hardy Iceplant, or "Pink Carpet") is a dwarf perennial plant, native to South Africa. It forms a dense lawn with abundant, long-lasting flowering. It will reach sizes of approximately 10–15 cm (4–6 in) tall, with fleshy leaves that are linear and simple and can grow up to 1.5 inches long and a trailing stem that hangs down.[1] These fleshy roots help provide the ability for the plants to recover and grow rapidly if a disturbance has occurred.[2]

The flowers are the most brilliant aspect of this plant, with the production of a great quantity of vermillion, magenta or pink flowers that will often cover the entire site, hence the popular name "pink carpet". The plant contains ramified stems that are spread out, carrying sheets opposed, and are long and narrow, with the end of the stems increasing into a quantity of isolated small flowers, with diameters ranging from 3 to 5 cm (1 to 2 in). These abundant and long-lasting flowers will remain in bloom from June to October.[3] The plant is sun-loving, and thrives well in very dry and hot environments. While it adapts well to various soil types, it will suffer under water stagnation, and thus prefers well drained soils, or even rocky terrain. University of Arkansas Research and Extension states these native habitat lack in competition with grasses so in result are mostly found in dry, salt tolerant conditions and are found mostly in rocky sites.[4]

Delosperma cooperi
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
(unranked):
Phylum:
Tracheophyta
(unranked):
(unranked):
Order:
Family:
Genus:
Species:
D. cooperi
Binomial name
Delosperma cooperi
(Hook.f.) L.Bolus
Delosperma cooperi hybrid that is bicolored with the flower being white in the center

Edits to article:

D. cooperi has prostrate to decumbent stems that creep along the ground with the ends of the branches reaching 4 to 6 inches tall.  Leaves are to 1.5 inches long, cylindrical, grayish in color with a flattened upper surface and marked with gray-green pimples. (leaves are linear and simple)

There are a number of narrow ray florets radiating out from a central mass of yellow stamens. Flowers of the hardy kinds are borne singly and produced over a long season from late spring and through much of the summer. They close at dusk and open with the heat of the day.

In their native habitat most ice plants are native to summer rainfall grassland sites but they lack the competitiveness to outgrow aggressive grasses during the rainy seasons so they mostly are found in rocky outcrops or sites with soil conditions unsuitable for vigorous grass growth. Many species, such as D. cooperi, have fleshy roots that allow the plants to bounce back quickly after a rangeland fire.

  1. ^ "Ice Plant". Ice Plant. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  2. ^ "Delosperma cooperi (Cooper's Hardy Ice Plant, Hardy Ice Plant) | North Carolina Extension Gardener Plant Toolbox". plants.ces.ncsu.edu. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  3. ^ "Hardy Ice Plant - Delosperma cooperi - PNW Plants". www.pnwplants.wsu.edu. Retrieved 2020-12-11.
  4. ^ "Ice Plant". Ice Plant. Retrieved 2020-12-11.