CARPOBROTUS EDULIS
Family and Genus:- See- AIZOACEAE
Common Name:- Kaffir-fig, Hottentot-fig.
Homotypic Synonyms:- Abryanthemum edule, Mesembryanthemum edule
Meaning:- Carpobrotus (Gr) Edible fruit.
Edulis (L) Edible, of food.
General description:- Low trailing and mat-forming perennial with a woody stem.
Leaves:-
1) Opposite, united together at the base. narrow and tapered, 3-angled, upwardly
curving.
Flowers:-
1) Large, 8-9 cm. with numerous yellow, yellowish-pink or pale purple linear petals.
2) Stamens, yellow.
Fruit:-
1) Fleshy and slightly fig-like, edible.
Key features:-
1) Flowers, usually more than 5 cm diam.
Habitat:- Rocks, cliffs and sandy places, often planted near coasts.
Distribution:- Widespread and common throughout the Mediterranean area. Fairly
widespread around the coastal areas of Crete.
Flowering time:- Apr-July.
Photos:- By Steve Lenton
SPECIES DESCRIPTION
Comments:-
Most of the genera that occur in Europe originate from South Africa. They are
cultivated for ornamental use, and many have become naturalized in milder, more or
less frost-free, coastal regions of S. and W. Europe.
Extract from "Atlas of the Aegean Flora". By Arne Strid.
"Represented by two varieties, one with yellow and one with bright magenta-pink
flowers; the name C. acinaciformis as used by European authors probably refers to
the latter."
