Carpobrotus acinaciformis
Hottentot Fig

Uses

Edible uses

Notes

Fruit - raw^[1]^[2]^[3]. There is very little flesh in the fruit and it must be fully ripe otherwise it is very astringent[K]. Insipid^[4]^[5]^[6]. Leaves - raw or cooked^[7]^[8]. Very mucilaginous, we find it very hard to enjoy them[K].

Fruit

Unknown use

Leaves

Unknown use

Material uses

Planted in maritime areas to prevent soil erosion in sandy soils and on steep banks^[9]. Plants form a dense carpet and make an effective ground cover^[10]. The plant is moderately fire-resistant and can be used in barrier plantings to prevent the spread of forest fires^[9].

Unknown part

Fire retardant

Medicinal uses(Warning!)

There are no medicinal uses listed for Carpobrotus acinaciformis.

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^[11]. 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 acinaciformis. 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^[12]. Established plants are very drought resistant^[9]. Very resistant to wind and salt spray^[12]. 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 acinaciformis. 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 acinaciformis.

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 Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable ISBN 0094579202 (1974-00-00)
? ^3.0^3.1 Polunin. O. and Huxley. A. Flowers of the Mediterranean. Hogarth Press ISBN 0-7012-0784-1 (1987-00-00)
? ^4.0^4.1 Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim (1959-00-00)
? ^5.0^5.1 Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing (1976-00-00)
? ^6.0^6.1 Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books ISBN 3874292169 (1984-00-00)
? ^7.0^7.1 Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications ISBN 0-486-20459-6 (1972-00-00)
? ^8.0^8.1 Crowe. A. Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. Hodder and Stoughton ISBN 0-340-508302 (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)
? Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan. (1989-00-00)
? ^12.0^12.1 Taylor. J. The Milder Garden. Dent (1990-00-00)

Cite error: <ref> tag with name "PFAFimport-260" defined in <references> is not used in prior text.

"image:Carpobrotus acinaciformis-P1020551.jpg|248px" cannot be used as a page name in this wiki.

[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-61-2] ? ^2.0^2.1 Usher. G. A Dictionary of Plants Used by Man. Constable ISBN 0094579202 (1974-00-00)

[PFAFimport-89-3] ? ^3.0^3.1 Polunin. O. and Huxley. A. Flowers of the Mediterranean. Hogarth Press ISBN 0-7012-0784-1 (1987-00-00)

[PFAFimport-46-4] ? ^4.0^4.1 Uphof. J. C. Th. Dictionary of Economic Plants. Weinheim (1959-00-00)

[PFAFimport-105-5] ? ^5.0^5.1 Tanaka. T. Tanaka's Cyclopaedia of Edible Plants of the World. Keigaku Publishing (1976-00-00)

[PFAFimport-177-6] ? ^6.0^6.1 Kunkel. G. Plants for Human Consumption. Koeltz Scientific Books ISBN 3874292169 (1984-00-00)

[PFAFimport-2-7] ? ^7.0^7.1 Hedrick. U. P. Sturtevant's Edible Plants of the World. Dover Publications ISBN 0-486-20459-6 (1972-00-00)

[PFAFimport-173-8] ? ^8.0^8.1 Crowe. A. Native Edible Plants of New Zealand. Hodder and Stoughton ISBN 0-340-508302 (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-138-11] ? Bird. R. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 3. Thompson and Morgan. (1989-00-00)

[PFAFimport-166-12] ? ^12.0^12.1 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	9 +
Has image	Carpobrotus acinaciformis-P1020551.jpg +
Has lifecycle type	Perennial +
Has material part	Unknown part +
Has material use	Fire retardant +
Has mature height	0.1 +
Has mature width	1 +
Has primary image	Carpobrotus acinaciformis-P1020551.jpg +
Has salinity tolerance	Tolerant +
Has search name	carpobrotus acinaciformis + 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 acinaciformis +
Has water requirements	moderate +
Inhabits ecosystem niche	Soil surface +
Is deciduous or evergreen	Evergreen +
Is taxonomy type	Species +
Tolerates maritime exposure	Yes +
Tolerates nutritionally poor soil	No +
Tolerates wind	Yes +
Uses mature size measurement unit	Meters +