Common iceplant vs Globe Thistle

Mesembryanthemum crystallinum compared with Echinops exaltatus

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Common iceplant	Globe Thistle
Kingdom	Plantae (Plants)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum	Magnoliophyta (Flowering Plants)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class	Magnoliopsida (Dicots)	Mammalia (Mammals)
Order	Caryophyllales (Caryophyllales)	Afrosoricida (Afrosoricida)
Family	Aizoaceae	Tenrecidae
Genus	Mesembryanthemum	Echinops
Species	Mesembryanthemum crystallinum	Echinops exaltatus

Conservation Status

Common iceplant

NE — Not Evaluated

Globe Thistle

NE — Not Evaluated

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Common iceplant	Globe Thistle
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Common iceplant

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial habitats from tropical forests to temperate regions.

Range

Widely distributed across Asia (Cyprus, India, Turkey), Europe (13 countries), North America (Mexico, United States), and South America (Chile, Ecuador).

Globe Thistle

Habitat

Typically found in diverse terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.

Range

Found across Europe (13 countries) and North America (Canada, United States).

Common iceplant

<em>Mesembryanthemum crystallinum</em>, commonly known as the common iceplant, is a succulent annual or short-lived perennial in the family Aizoaceae. Its conservation status has not been formally evaluated by the IUCN. The species is distributed across Asia, Europe, North America, and South America, with a wide global footprint that includes both native populations and naturalized occurrences. It typically inhabits coastal and arid environments, saline soils, disturbed ground, and rocky slopes where competition from other vegetation is limited. The plant is named for the glistening bladder-like cells on its surface that resemble ice crystals. Diet information for this species is not available in current records. Biological traits of this species remain poorly documented in the scientific literature.