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~Skating On Thin Ice~
Wikipedia
Carpobrotus edulis is a ground-creeping plant with succulent leaves in the genus Carpobrotus, native to South Africa. It is also known as Hottentot-fig, ice plant, highway ice plant or pigface and in South Africa as the sour fig.
Description Carpobrotus edulis is a creeping, mat-forming succulent species and member of the fig-marigold 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 size and colour of its flowers. The large, 2.5 to 6 inches (64 to 152 mm) diameter flowers of C. edulis are yellow or light pink, whereas the smaller, 1.5 to 2.5 inches (38 to 64 mm) diameter 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.
Flowers are pollinated by solitary bees, honey bees, carpenter bees, and many beetle species. Leaves are eaten by tortoises. Flowers are eaten by antelopes and baboons. Fruits are eaten by baboons, rodents, porcupines, antelopes, who also disperse the seeds. The clumps provide shelter for snails, lizards, and skinks. 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.
In California
The ice plant forms large monospecific zones.
Although the ice plant may have arrived by ship as early as the 16th century, C. edulis was actively introduced in the early 1900s to stabilize dunes[7] and soil along railroad tracks; it was later put to use by Caltrans for ground cover along freeway embankments. Thousands of acres were planted in California until the 1970s. It easily spreads by seed (hundreds per fruit) and from segmentation (any shoot segment can produce roots). Its succulent foliage, bright magenta or yellow flowers, and resistance to some harsh coastal climatic conditions (salt) have also made it a favored garden plant. The ice plant was, for several decades, widely promoted as an ornamental plant, and it is still available at some nurseries. Ice plant foliage can turn a vibrant red to yellow in color. Despite its use as a soil stabilizer, it actually exacerbates and speeds up coastal erosion. It holds great masses of water in its leaves, and its roots are very shallow. In the rainy season, the added weight on unstable sandstone slopes and dunes increases the chances of slope collapse and landslides.
The ice plant is still abundant along highways, beaches, on military bases, and in other public and private landscapes. It spreads beyond landscape plantings and has invaded foredune, dune scrub, coastal bluff scrub, coastal prairie, and, most recently, maritime chaparral communities. In California, the ice plant is found in coastal habitats from north of Eureka, south at least as far as Rosarito in Baja California. It is intolerant of frost, and is not found far inland or at elevations greater than about 500 ft (150 m).
Flowering occurs almost year-round, beginning in February in southern California and continuing through fall in northern California, with flowers present for at least a few months in any given population.
In South Africa...
They're known as 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.
The sour fig's ripe fruit are gathered and either eaten fresh or made into a very tart jam.
#RigsRocks #Iceplant #LoversPointPark #MacroFlowers #PacificGrove #Monterey #SpringFlowers #WildFlowers #CarpobrotusEdulis #FigMarigoldFamily
#HottentotFig #HighwayIcePlant #Pigface #SourFig
~Skating On Thin Ice~
Wikipedia
Carpobrotus edulis is a ground-creeping plant with succulent leaves in the genus Carpobrotus, native to South Africa. It is also known as Hottentot-fig, ice plant, highway ice plant or pigface and in South Africa as the sour fig.
Description Carpobrotus edulis is a creeping, mat-forming succulent species and member of the fig-marigold 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 size and colour of its flowers. The large, 2.5 to 6 inches (64 to 152 mm) diameter flowers of C. edulis are yellow or light pink, whereas the smaller, 1.5 to 2.5 inches (38 to 64 mm) diameter 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.
Flowers are pollinated by solitary bees, honey bees, carpenter bees, and many beetle species. Leaves are eaten by tortoises. Flowers are eaten by antelopes and baboons. Fruits are eaten by baboons, rodents, porcupines, antelopes, who also disperse the seeds. The clumps provide shelter for snails, lizards, and skinks. 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.
In California
The ice plant forms large monospecific zones.
Although the ice plant may have arrived by ship as early as the 16th century, C. edulis was actively introduced in the early 1900s to stabilize dunes[7] and soil along railroad tracks; it was later put to use by Caltrans for ground cover along freeway embankments. Thousands of acres were planted in California until the 1970s. It easily spreads by seed (hundreds per fruit) and from segmentation (any shoot segment can produce roots). Its succulent foliage, bright magenta or yellow flowers, and resistance to some harsh coastal climatic conditions (salt) have also made it a favored garden plant. The ice plant was, for several decades, widely promoted as an ornamental plant, and it is still available at some nurseries. Ice plant foliage can turn a vibrant red to yellow in color. Despite its use as a soil stabilizer, it actually exacerbates and speeds up coastal erosion. It holds great masses of water in its leaves, and its roots are very shallow. In the rainy season, the added weight on unstable sandstone slopes and dunes increases the chances of slope collapse and landslides.
The ice plant is still abundant along highways, beaches, on military bases, and in other public and private landscapes. It spreads beyond landscape plantings and has invaded foredune, dune scrub, coastal bluff scrub, coastal prairie, and, most recently, maritime chaparral communities. In California, the ice plant is found in coastal habitats from north of Eureka, south at least as far as Rosarito in Baja California. It is intolerant of frost, and is not found far inland or at elevations greater than about 500 ft (150 m).
Flowering occurs almost year-round, beginning in February in southern California and continuing through fall in northern California, with flowers present for at least a few months in any given population.
In South Africa...
They're known as 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.
The sour fig's ripe fruit are gathered and either eaten fresh or made into a very tart jam.
#RigsRocks #Iceplant #LoversPointPark #MacroFlowers #PacificGrove #Monterey #SpringFlowers #WildFlowers #CarpobrotusEdulis #FigMarigoldFamily
#HottentotFig #HighwayIcePlant #Pigface #SourFig