Aizoon hispanicum

Small annual succulent of the Aizoaceae family, native to the western Mediterranean basin and arid regions of North Africa, naturally growing on sandy, salty or gypsum soils, open garrigues and dry coastal areas.

It forms a sprawling, almost prostrate rosette, 5 to 15 cm, with fleshy, spatulate leaves covered with shiny papillae giving it a characteristic frosted appearance.

The flowers are small, yellowish-white to pale yellow, sessile, axillary, not very showy but with a certain delicacy.

A botanical curiosity for the specialist in xerophytic plants and families with foliar succulence, it illustrates the evolutionary convergence with the succulent Aizoaceae of South Africa, of which it is a modest but remarkable Mediterranean representative.