Carpobrotus edulis
Hottentot Fig

Uses

Edible uses

Notes

Fruit - raw, cooked, dried for later use or made into pickles, chutney etc^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]. There is very little flesh in the fruit and it must be fully ripe otherwise it is very astringent[K]. Mucilaginous and sweetly acid^[6]. Leaves - raw or cooked^[2]^[7]. Succulent, they are eaten in salads and can also be used as a substitute for pickled cucumber^[6]. We find them too mucilaginous to be enjoyable[K].

Fruit

Unknown use

Leaves

Unknown use

Material uses

Used in maritime areas to prevent soil erosion in sandy soils^[8]^[9]. Plants form a dense carpet and make an effective ground cover^[10].

Can be grown as a fire barrier in areas subject to forest fires, it is moderately fire retardant^[9].

The dried leaves contain about 19.4% tannin and the dry stems 14.2%^[11]. Yields of 1700 kilos per hectare of cultivated plants have been achieved^[11].

Unknown part

Fire retardant

Tannin

Medicinal uses(Warning!)

There are no medicinal uses listed for Carpobrotus edulis.

Ecology

Ecosystem niche/layer

Soil surface

Ecological Functions

Ground cover

Earth stabiliser

Forage

Nothing listed.

Shelter

Nothing listed.

Propagation

Seed - surface sow March to June in a greenhouse. Lower night-time temperatures are beneficial. The seed usually germinates in 7 - 10 days at 23°c^[12]. When they are large enough to handle, prick the seedlings out into individual pots and grow them on in a greenhouse for at least their first winter. Plant them out into their permanent positions in late spring or early summer, after the last expected frosts. Cuttings at any time during the growing season. Allow the cutting to dry in the sun for a day or two then pot up in a very sandy mix. Very easy[K].

Practical Plants is currently lacking information on propagation instructions of Carpobrotus edulis. Help us fill in the blanks! Edit this page to add your knowledge.

Cultivation

Requires a well-drained sandy soil in a sunny position^[1]^[9]. Plants can be grown on dry walls or in the flower border^[13]. Established plants are very drought resistant^[9]. Very resistant to wind and salt spray^[13]. Moderately fire-retardant^[9].

Plants are not very frost resistant and can be killed by temperatures below about -2°c. They have naturalized themselves on cliffs along the coast of S. Britain but do not succeed inland unless grown in a sunny sheltered position^[9].

A vigorous prostrate plant, rooting as it spreads. The flowers only open in the afternoon^[9].

Crops

Problems, pests & diseases

Associations & Interactions

There are no interactions listed for Carpobrotus edulis. Do you know of an interaction that should be listed here? edit this page to add it.

Polycultures & Guilds

There are no polycultures listed which include Carpobrotus edulis.

Descendants

Cultivars

Varieties

None listed.

Subspecies

None listed.

Full Data

This table shows all the data stored for this plant.

References

? ^1.0^1.1^1.2 F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press (1951-00-00)
? ^2.0^2.1^2.2 Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications ISBN 0-486-20459-6 (1972-00-00)
? ^3.0^3.1 Simmons. A. E. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles ISBN 0-7153-5531-7 (1972-00-00)
? ^4.0^4.1 Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins ISBN 0-00-219060-5 (1974-00-00)
? ^5.0^5.1 Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald ISBN 0-356-10541-5 (1984-00-00)
? ^6.0^6.1^6.2^6.3 Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 (1990-00-00)
? ^7.0^7.1 Crowe. A. Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. Hodder and Stoughton ISBN 0-340-508302 (1990-00-00)
? ^8.0^8.1 Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. ISBN 0-86318-386-7 (1990-00-00)
? ^9.0^9.1^9.2^9.3^9.4^9.5^9.6^9.7^9.8 Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press ISBN 0-333-47494-5 (1992-00-00)
? ^10.0^10.1 Thomas. G. S. Plants for Ground Cover J. M. Dent & Sons ISBN 0-460-12609-1 (1990-00-00)
? ^11.0^11.1^11.2 Rottsieper. E.H.W. Vegetable Tannins The Forestal Land, Timber and Railways Co. Ltd. (1946-00-00)
? Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan. (1989-00-00)
? ^13.0^13.1 Taylor. J. The Milder Garden. Dent (1990-00-00)

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Cite error: <ref> tag with name "PFAFimport-17" defined in <references> is not used in prior text.

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[PFAFimport-1-1] ? ^1.0^1.1^1.2 F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press (1951-00-00)

[PFAFimport-2-2] ? ^2.0^2.1^2.2 Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications ISBN 0-486-20459-6 (1972-00-00)

[PFAFimport-3-3] ? ^3.0^3.1 Simmons. A. E. Growing Unusual Fruit. David and Charles ISBN 0-7153-5531-7 (1972-00-00)

[PFAFimport-5-4] ? ^4.0^4.1 Mabey. R. Food for Free. Collins ISBN 0-00-219060-5 (1974-00-00)

[PFAFimport-7-5] ? ^5.0^5.1 Chiej. R. Encyclopaedia of Medicinal Plants. MacDonald ISBN 0-356-10541-5 (1984-00-00)

[PFAFimport-183-6] ? ^6.0^6.1^6.2^6.3 Facciola. S. Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. Kampong Publications ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 (1990-00-00)

[PFAFimport-173-7] ? ^7.0^7.1 Crowe. A. Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. Hodder and Stoughton ISBN 0-340-508302 (1990-00-00)

[PFAFimport-188-8] ? ^8.0^8.1 Brickell. C. The RHS Gardener's Encyclopedia of Plants and Flowers Dorling Kindersley Publishers Ltd. ISBN 0-86318-386-7 (1990-00-00)

[PFAFimport-200-9] ? ^9.0^9.1^9.2^9.3^9.4^9.5^9.6^9.7^9.8 Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press ISBN 0-333-47494-5 (1992-00-00)

[PFAFimport-208-10] ? ^10.0^10.1 Thomas. G. S. Plants for Ground Cover J. M. Dent & Sons ISBN 0-460-12609-1 (1990-00-00)

[PFAFimport-223-11] ? ^11.0^11.1^11.2 Rottsieper. E.H.W. Vegetable Tannins The Forestal Land, Timber and Railways Co. Ltd. (1946-00-00)

[PFAFimport-138-12] ? Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan. (1989-00-00)

[PFAFimport-166-13] ? ^13.0^13.1 Taylor. J. The Milder Garden. Dent (1990-00-00)

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Article is incomplete	Yes +
Article requires citations	No +
Article requires cleanup	Yes +
Belongs to family	Aizoaceae +
Belongs to genus	Carpobrotus +
Functions as	Ground cover + and Earth stabiliser +
Has common name	Hottentot Fig +
Has drought tolerance	Tolerant +
Has edible part	Fruit + and Leaves +
Has edible use	Unknown use +
Has environmental tolerance	Maritime exposure +, High wind +, Drought + and Salinity +
Has fertility type	Bee +
Has flowers of type	Hermaphrodite +
Has hardiness zone	8 +
Has image	Carpobrotus April 2008-1.jpg +
Has lifecycle type	Perennial +
Has material part	Unknown part +
Has material use	Fire retardant + and Tannin +
Has mature height	0.1 +
Has mature width	1 +
Has primary image	Carpobrotus April 2008-1.jpg +
Has salinity tolerance	Tolerant +
Has search name	carpobrotus edulis + and x +
Has shade tolerance	No shade +
Has soil ph preference	Acid +, Neutral + and Alkaline +
Has soil tesandyture preference	Sandy +
Has soil water retention preference	Well drained +
Has sun preference	Full sun +
Has taxonomy name	Carpobrotus edulis +
Has water requirements	moderate +
Inhabits ecosystem niche	Soil surface +
Is taxonomy type	Species +
Tolerates maritime exposure	Yes +
Tolerates nutritionally poor soil	No +
Tolerates wind	Yes +
Uses mature size measurement unit	Meters +