Species name :

Carpobrotus edulis(L.) N. E. Brown
Published in Gen. S. Afr. Fl. Pl. 249 (1926)

Synonyms :

Basionym or principal synonym: Mesembryanthemum edule L.

Full list of synonyms : [ Euro+Med ]   [ PlantList ]   [ IPNI ]   [ Catalogue of Life ]

Plant Family :

Aizooaceae The Fig-Marigold Family 14 Aizooaceae species recorded from Malta.
Rudolphi

English name(s) :

Hottenot Fig, Kaffir Fig

Maltese name(s) :

Xuxet San Ġwann, Is-Swaba tal-Madonna

Status for Malta :

Naturalised alien species that was introduced in Malta during the last 520 years without becoming invasive

Frequency :

Very Common     Common     Frequent     Scarce     Rare     Very rare     Extinct

Growth form :

Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: CHAMEOPHYTE (Small or dwarf shrubs)
Germination [info]: Dicotyledon

Legal Protection [link]:

Not Protected by Law (LN200/2011 or LN311/2006)

Red List (1989) :

Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands

Flowering Time :

Mar-Oct

Colour of Flowers:

Violet or Yellow

Habitat :

Invasive horticultural escape found in disturbed areas especially close to the touristic areas, coasts and wasteground

Remarks :

Some authorities states that the closely related species - Carpobrotus acinaciformis is also found in Malta and consequently it is given in several old and recent Maltese floristic literature as rare ccurence. According to Flora europaea and Flora d'Italia by Pignatti, C. acinaciformis have purple filaments and stamens while they are yellow in C. edulis. The yellow pollen of the former may cover the stamens making them look yellow.

Habitat in Europe:

Cultivated for ornament and naturalized on coastal cliffs and sands, and sometimes inland in disturbed places.

Preferred habitat in Malta:

Invasive horticultural escape found in disturbed areas especially close to the touristic areas, coasts and wasteground

Botanical Description:

Stems up to several metres. Leaves not glaucous, not broadening above the middle, tapering gradually to the acute apex; dorsal angle serrulate. Flowers 4-9 cm in diameter; petals yellow, pinkish-purple (var. rubescens Druce, C. acinaciformis auct. eur., non (L.) L. Bolus, Mesembryanthemum acinaciforme auct. eur., non L.) or purple with a yellow base (var. chrysophthalmus C.D. Preston & P.D. Sell); anthers yellow, the filaments yellow or brownish.

Chromosome number:

2n=18

Distributional range:

South Europe

Native region outside Europe:

(Australia)

Distributional map in Europe
and the Mediterranean region (2018):

Occurrences in Europe.
(from Flora Europaea pre year 1993):

Introduced in Albania, the Azores, the Balaeric Islands, Britain (excl. Northern Ireland and Channel islands), Corse, France (incl. Monaco and Channel Islands but excluding Corse), Greece, Ireland, Spain (incl. Andorra but excl. the Balaerics), Italy (excl. Sicily and Sardignia), Portugal, Sicily and/or Malta

Occurrences in Europe and the Mediterranean region.
(Euro+Med Checklist, 2017) - Country codes

[nAE AE(G) nAg nAl Az nAz(C F G J L M P S T) Be nBl Bl(I M N) nBr nCa Ca(C F G L P T) nCo Cr aCy nGa(C F) Gr nHb(E N) nHs Hs(S) nIJ nIt nLe nLi LS nLu nMa nMd Md(M P) nSa Si nSi(M S) nSy nTn Tu(A E)]