Species name :

Mesembryanthemum lancifolium(L.Bolus) Klak
Published in Suppl. Pl.: 260. (1781)

Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.)

Aptenia lancifolia L. Bolus

Synonym that was used for long in Malta: Aptenia lancifolia L. Bolus

Full list of synonyms : [Euro+Med] [WFO] [IPNI] [POWO] [Catalogue of Life] [Worldplants.de]

Plant Family :

Aizooaceae Rudolphi (The Fig-Marigold Family)
18 species from the Aizooaceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands.

English name(s) :

Lance-leaved Ice Plant, Lesser Baby Sun Rose, Red Aptenia

Maltese name(s) :

Qrun il-baqra

Status for Malta :

Invasive Alien. Species that was introduced in Malta any time after year 1492 (Columbus' discovery of the New World), and spreads rapidly to form large invasive populations to the detriment of native flora or ecosystems.

Frequency :

Very Common     Common    Frequent     Scarce     Rare    Very rare    Extinct

Growth form :

Germination type [info]: Dicotyledon
Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: Chameophyte ( small woody shrubs with vegetative buds well above the ground )

Legal Protection :

Not legally protected till the last update of this website (22/Aug/2025)

Red List (1989) :

Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands

Flowering Time :

March – November

Colour of Flowers:

Violet or Red

Toxicity:

Not particularly toxic

Name Derivation :

Mesembryanthemum: Conjugation of two Greek words Mesembria - meaning midday or noon and -anthemon meaniny flower; in allusion to the fact that plants bloom at noon. In the past, many succulent plants have been classified in this genus for this artificail habit, however, many Mesembryanthemum species have been later placed to more appropriate genera sharing common morphological or/and genetic traits. (Greek origin)

lancifolium: Leaves having the shape of a lance; broadest at the lowest third and tapering gradually to a narrow apex, cuneate at the base. (Latin origin)

Planting in rural areas :

Cannot be planted in the wild (rural areas) since the species may be invasive (see ERA guidelines)

Remarks :

Very similar to Aptenia (= Mesembryanthemum) cordifolia (more frequent in Malta) but flowers are more reddish-magenta rather than violet and the base of the leaves are obtuse-cuneate, and hence lance-shaped. Hybrids between A. cordifolia × A. haeckeliana are known in cultivation and often sold as Red Apple. They have lilac-rose flowers and easy to confuse with both A. lancifolia and A. cordifolia. The difference to differ the two species from the leaves (lance-shaped in A. lancifolia; heart-shaped in A. cordifolia) is not very contrasting and difficult to distinguish between the two. However, A. lancifolia has larger and more reddish flowers from A. cordifolia which are violet-purple instead.