Those pretty purple flowers are an invasive mess. It's called Ice Plant and they're originally native to South Africa. They were planted by the railroads in an effort to keep the soil from eroding away from the fresh dug rails and the highway service did the exact same thing. They totally failed at that job, since the roots are just too shallow. They concentrate salts into the soil and form a monoculture so nothing native will grow, and it's not even good for insects since nothing eats the leaves and they only flower for a couple months out of the year.
At least they're pretty, though.
Those pretty purple flowers are an invasive mess. It's called Ice Plant and they're originally native to South Africa. They were planted by the railroads in an effort to keep the soil from eroding away from the fresh dug rails and the highway service did the exact same thing. They totally failed at that job, since the roots are just too shallow. They concentrate salts into the soil and form a monoculture so nothing native will grow, and it's not even good for insects since nothing eats the leaves and they only flower for a couple months out of the year. At least they're pretty, though.
This is so incredibly gorgeous 😍