Carpobrotus edulis

Carpobrotus edulis
Carpobrotus edulis, West Coast National Park, South Africa
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Core eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Aizoaceae
Genus:	Carpobrotus
Species:	C. edulis
Binomial name
Carpobrotus edulis (L.) N.E. Br
Synonyms
Mesembryanthemum edule L

Mesembryanthemum edule L

Carpobrotus edulis is native to South Africa. It is also known as Hottentot-fig,, highway ice plant or pigface and in South Africa as the sour fig (suurvy; earlier: hotnotsvy), on account of its edible fruit.

It was previously classified in genus Mesembryanthemum and is sometimes referred to by this name. The genus name, Carpobrotus, is derived from the Greek karpos "fruit" and brotos "edible", the fruits of some species being edible.

Carpobrotus edulis is a creeping, mat-forming succulent species and member of the stone plant family Aizoaceae, one of about 30 species in the genus Carpobrotus.

C. edulis is easily confused with its close relatives, including the more diminutive and less aggressive Carpobrotus chilensis (sea fig), with which it hybridizes readily. C. edulis can, however, be distinguished from most of its relatives by the colour of its flowers. The large (2.5-to-6-inch-diameter (64 to 152 mm)) flowers of C. edulis are yellow or light pink, whereas the smaller, 1.5-to-2.5-inch-diameter (38 to 64 mm) C. chilensis flowers are deep magenta. On the flowers, two of the calyx lobes are longer, extending further than the petals.

The leaves of C. edulis are only very slightly curved and have serrated sides near the tips.

The sour fig grows on coastal and inland slopes from Namaqualand in the Northern Cape through the Western Cape to the Eastern Cape. It is often seen as a pioneer in disturbed sites.

Leaves are eaten by tortoises. Puff adders and other snakes, such as the Cape cobra, are often found in Carpobrotus clumps, where they ambush the small rodents attracted by the fruits. Flowers are pollinated by solitary bees, honey bees, carpenter bees, and many beetle species. Flowers are eaten by antelopes and baboons. The clumps provide shelter for snails, lizards, and skinks. Fruits are eaten by baboons, rodents, porcupines, antelopes, and people, who also disperse the seeds.

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Wikipedia