Tag Archives: invasive

Ice Plant Flower

Ice Plant Flower
The flower of the invasive ice plant, Monterey county

Ice Plant Flower. © Copyright 2019 G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

The flower of the invasive ice plant, Monterey county.

Ice Plant is ubiquitous along freeways and in similar areas in many parts of California — likely because it is a hardy plant that produces some impressive flowers during part of the year. It is also a non-native that has become invasive in many areas, including some where it probably doesn’t belong.

I photographed this specimen in one of those probably-doesn’t-belong locations. It was growing on a coastal bluff in the upper section of the Big Sur coast, and burrowing its way into the natural ecology of the place. But the flowers were attractive, especially with a bit of early morning dew still on the petals.


G Dan Mitchell is a California photographer and visual opportunist. His book, “California’s Fall Color: A Photographer’s Guide to Autumn in the Sierra” is available from Heyday Books and Amazon.

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Plant ID’ed?

@ljellis tweeted that the plant misidentified in my photo as “cattails” might be “Harding grass,” or halaris aquatica. Looks and sounds reasonable to me from the description I read online as to the form of the plant and where it grows.

The disappointment is that it is described as an “invasive species” – that can’t be good! But, darn, I still like the photo. If anyone else has further info on this, or a confirmation of the identify of the plant, I’d welcome hearing from you.