This plant is called "ice plant" because its surface looks as if it's covered in crystals of salt, giving it a frozen appearance. It’s often considered the poster child of edible succulents, but these days, it’s becoming firmly established as a true “vegetable.” You’re probably more likely to find it at the greengrocer’s than the garden center, and even at garden shops, seeds for cultivation are more common than potted plants. Some sources say it’s a perennial, but in practice it behaves as an annual—another reason it's treated mainly as a vegetable. Remarkably, it thrives in soil with high levels of nutrients and salt, where most other plants can’t grow (it’s even said to grow with seawater!). Plus, as it absorbs salt from the soil and brings it up to the surface, it makes the surrounding area even less hospitable for other plants. In some regions, this has led to it being considered an invasive species (for example, there are islands in California—the homeland of Dudleya—where ice plant has taken over almost entirely…). While it's generally believed that ice plant can’t survive Japanese winters and won't naturalize here due to its lack of cold hardiness, please keep this in mind if you try growing it.

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  1,000JPY