Aizoaceae Mesembryanthemaceae

Quite interesting is the report of Winter and v. Willert (1972 see also Winter and Luttge, 1976) that Mesembryanthemum crystalUnum shifts from a non-CAM metabolism to CAM when stressed with NaCl. In their experiments, only when irrigated with a 0.5 M NaCl solution or water stressed did the plant accumulate malate and fix measurably CO2 in the dark (see also Chap. 3 and 6). 

The family Aizoaceae (also referred to by various authors as Ficoidaceae or Mesembryaceae) is described in detail by Jacobsen (1960). It is a large family with over 100 genera and 600 species. By and large, the species are leaf succulents. 

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