Ice Plant is Pretty but Pernicious

Bay Curious

KQED

History, Society & Culture, Places & Travel

4.9 • 999 Ratings

🗓️ 15 August 2024

⏱️ 17 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

If you've been anywhere along the California coast, you've seen it—ice plant. It's a low, spreading succulent with finger-like leaves and bright pink or yellow flowers. Given its prevalence on our shorelines, you might assume ice plant is meant to be there. But it's actually an invasive species that threatens native plants and wildlife. This week on the show, producer Pauline Bartolone digs into the effects of this pretty pest, and some other herbaceous interlopers. Additional Reading: Pretty but Not Nice: California's Invasive Ice Plant Read a transcript of this episode Learn more about invasive plants in your area Sign up for our newsletter Enter our Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts This story was reported by Pauline Bartolone. Bay Curious is made by Olivia Allen-Price, Katrina Schwartz, Amanda Font, Christopher Beale, and Ana De Almeida Amaral. Additional support from Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Holly Kernan, and the whole KQED family.

Transcript

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0:00.0	From K-QED.
0:02.0	When you think of quintessential California experiences, driving down Highway 1 is pretty tough to beat.
0:11.0	It was one of the first things that Tom McMahon did when he first
0:15.5	came to the Bay Area. I rented a car and I drove from San Francisco down to Seacliff and on the way I actually
0:22.3	stopped along a few spots and one of them was
0:24.9	like popular beach and you know one of the things that kind of jumped out was all these
0:29.1	green plants with the purple and yellow flowers. What he was seeing was ice plant,
0:34.2	a fleshy green succulent with finger-like three-sided leaves.
0:38.7	It grows low to the ground and spreads out
0:41.3	over large areas like a carpet.
0:43.0	In spring, it's pink, purple, or yellow flowers burst open.
0:48.0	Its petals spreading like little fireworks.
0:52.0	Quite frankly, it's gorgeous, but it's got a dark side.
0:57.0	McMahon started studying plants with his five-year-old daughter recently
1:01.0	and learned this charming looking plant is invasive.
1:05.0	And this has been something that I've seen everywhere and it's part of my expectation of
1:10.0	what the Pacific Coast is.
1:12.1	McMahon lives in California now,
1:14.3	and he and his daughter go on walks
1:16.2	and see ice plant all over.
1:18.2	It's often used in landscaping in place of grass.
1:21.4	She's been asking, if it's's invasive why did someone put it here and
	...

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