This is a succulent, creeping, short-lived, mat-forming perennial herb growing in flat clumps on the ground from a woody base. Plants only rise to about 3.9 in tall but prostrate stems reach up to about 24 in long. The stems are green and stalk-round. The fleshy, small leaves are opposite, ovate to cordate, about 0.98 in long and covered with fine papillae.
Bright pink to purplish solitary flowers appear in the leaf axils, open during the day but close up at night and remain closed on cloudy days. These colored whorls are not petals, but non-functional modified stamens. Normal stamens are yellow. Flowers bloom primarily from spring to fall. The fruit is a capsule of little more than one centimeter in length with millimeter brown tuberose seeds. There is a variegated form.
Native to the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, this species has become widely known as an ornamental plant.
Mesembryanthemum cordifolium can be planted as a fast-growing, not hardy, groundcover in flower boxes and around traffic lights. The plant needs a sunny spot and well drained soil. This plant is also ideal for covering walls, rockeries and areas bare of grass. Due to its quick growth, it is useful to prevent the growth of weeds in the field where it is planted. It can also survive without problems in a pot, where it is grown in hanging baskets so the long trailing branches can hang down with their leaves spaced out. Over-wintering should take place in a frost-free, sunny place at approximately 41 to 46 °F. No serious insect or disease problems are known.
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