Family Index

Scientific Name

Tetragonia implexicoma

Family Name

AIZOACEAE (FICOIDEAE)

Common Name

Bower Spinach, Ice Plant

Status

Height

ground cover

Flowers

Small, stalked flowers with 4 yellow, strongly scented petals.

Fruit

Berries or drupes

Form

Succulent trailing plant, leaves 5cm long, produces juicy orange-red to blackish globular fruit.

Municipalities

Break O'Day; Burnie; Central Coast; Circular Head; Clarence; Derwent Valley; Devonport; Dorset; Flinders Island; Georgetown; Glamorgan-Spring Bay; Huon Valley; King Island; Kingborough; Latrobe; Sorell; Tasman; Waratah-Wynyard; West Coast; West Tamar

Communities

Habitat Notes

Widespread on coasts.

Site Tolerance

Frost Tolerance

Tender

Soil Tolerance

General Notes

Use fresh seed. Good plant to grow on sandy banks, position at 1m intervals for dense cover. Fruits taste salty sweet, and leaves are also edible. Low maintenance, resistant to salt spray. Not suitable below powerlines.

Propagation Details

Propagation Calendar

Flowering Months

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Seed Collecting Months

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Sowing Months

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Cutting Months

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Seed Information

Seed Collection

1-3 pale brown seeds in orange-red to black spherical fruit.

Seed Treatment Method

Seed Storage Life

Viable Seeds Per Gram

Seed Treatment Notes

Remove flesh before sowing

Germination Time

Suitable for Direct Seeding

Cuttings

Expected Time to Take Root

Expected Time to Plant Out

Propagation by Division N.B. Transplant only from nearby to avoid disease.

Yes

Cutting Notes

Easily propagated from cuttings.