Carpobrotus edulis

Freeway iceplant, Freeway Iceplant

Family: Aizoaceae · Type: shrub · Not Native

Conservation status: Cal-IPC Yes

Freeway iceplant is a naturalized shrub found in coastal regions including Northern California Coast, Central Coast, Southern California Coast, and Channel Islands in sandy coastal habitats at elevations below 100 meters. Flowering essentially year-round, this plant produces pink to magenta flowers that are large and showy, reaching 3 to 4 centimeters across. Growing up to 3 meters long with sprawling, succulent stems that spread horizontally across the ground, it forms dense mats that can quickly cover large areas. Its thick, triangular succulent leaves are widest below the middle, with a fleshy green appearance that helps the plant retain water in coastal environments. The fruit is triangular and flattened near the stem, contributing to the plant's distinctive ground-covering growth habit.

Habitat: Common. Many coastal habitats, especially sand

Bloom period: +- all year

Elevation: < 100 m

Bioregions: NCo, CCo, SCo, ChI

California counties: San Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Francisco, Alameda, Kern, Sacramento, San Luis Obispo, Santa Cruz, Sonoma, Marin, Mendocino, Monterey, San Mateo, Solano, Humboldt

Data from The California Species Project — 14,000+ California species with verified data from CNPS, CDFW, USFWS, Jepson eFlora, Cal-IPC, and more.