PIGFACE

Carpobrotus glaucescens, commonly known as angular sea-fig or pigface, is a species of flowering plant in the Aizoaceae (ice plant) family. It is a succulent coastal ground-cover native to temperate eastern Australia. The succulent leaves are 3.5–10 cm long and 9–15 mm wide, straight or slightly curved. The flowers are 3.2–6 cm wide, and light purple. The red to purple fruit is 2–3 cm long and 1.6–2.4 cm wide.

The fruit pulp is edible, with a flavour like salty strawberry or kiwifruit. The skin is discarded. The leaves are also edible cooked, and can be used as a preserved pickles. Fruit of the plant can also be made into a toffee or jam. The roasted leaves have been used as a salt substitute. Early European explorers used the plant as an anti-scurvy treatment. The juice of the leaves can also be used to relieve pain from insect bites. Carpobrotus comes from the Greek ‘karpos' (fruit) and ‘brota' (edible things) and refers to the edible fruits.

As would be expected C. glaucescens is very salt tolerant and is able to withstand salt spray, strong winds and sand blast. If covered with sand the plant can survive, grow upwards and produce a new plant mat over the old one. Pigface is generally a summer-spring growing plant. It can be grown either from seed or cuttings. Propagation is easiest by layering (rooting horizontal stem cuttings), as this is how the plant grows naturally. These layers should be around 30 cm in length and planted leaving at least 5 cm of the plant above the sand or soil. The plant can also be grown from cut pieces or division of large plants.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme.

ORANGE PIGFACE

Mesembryanthemum is a genus of flowering plants in the family Aizoaceae; like many members of this family, it is characterised by long-lasting flower heads. Flowers of Mesembryanthemum protect their gametes from night-time dews or frosts but open in sunlight. There is an obvious evolutionary advantage to doing this; where sun, dew, frost, wind or predators are likely to damage exposed reproductive organs, closing may be advantageous during times when flowers are unlikely to attract pollinators.

It is indigenous to southern Africa. Many Mesembryanthemum species are known as ice plants because of the glistening globular bladder cells covering their stems, fruit and leaves, so that "they sparkle like ice crystals". In South Africa, Mesembryanthemum is known as "vygies" (from Afrikaans "vy"), although this term refers to many plants in the Aizoaceae family. Many species formerly placed in Mesembryanthemum, such as Dorotheanthus bellidiformis, Carpobrotus spp. and Sceletium spp. have since been moved into other genera.

Ground cover plants don’t come much tougher or lower maintenance than this plant. In its native land, pigface is used to growing in dry, rocky and sandy conditions which makes it very tolerant to drought, salt and wind. Its succulent foliage will form a dense and spreading mat, growing to no more than 15cm high and around 40cm wide. It’s prized of course for the spectacularly vibrant flowers that form all over the plant in early spring – electric shades of orange, pink, yellow and a crystal white that contrast beautifully with the foliage.

Choose a dry, sunny spot with good drainage, such as amongst rock. They will tolerate partial shade but you may find they produce less flowers. They have a tendency to trail slightly, so plant them at the edge of retaining walls or pots where they can artfully spill over the side. Pigface is unlikely to have problems with pests or disease, just ensure that your drainage is good to prevent root rot.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the Orange you Glad It's Friday meme.

PIG FACE

Carpobrotus rossii, commonly known as karkalla or pig face (Western Australia), is a succulent coastal groundcover plant native to southern Australia. Karkalla leaves are succulent, 3.5–10 cm long and 1 cm, and curved or rarely straight. The flowers are light purple in colour, and 6 cm wide. The globular purplish red fruit is about 2.5 cm long and 1.5 cm wide.

The species occurs in the states of Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria. It can be found year-round in large patches covering sand dunes close to the ocean, due to its hardy nature and salt resistance. Aboriginal people eat the fruit traditionally, fresh and dried. The salty leaves were also reported to have been eaten with meat. Extracts of the plant have significant in vitro antioxidant, antiplatelet, and anti-inflammatory activity.

This post is part of the Pink Saturday meme,
and also part of the I Heart Macros meme,
and also part of the Macro Monday meme.

ICE PLANT

Aptenia cordifolia is a species of succulent plant in the ice plant family known by the common names heartleaf, ice plant and baby sun rose. Perhaps the most common plant seen under this name is actually Aptenia 'Red Apple', a hybrid with red flowers and bright green leaves, whose parents are A. cordifolia and A. (Platythyra) haeckeliana. The true species of A. cordifolia has magenta purple flowers and more heart-shaped, mid-green, textured leaves.

Native to southern Africa, this species has become widely known as an ornamental plant. It is a mat-forming perennial herb growing in flat clumps on the ground from a woody base. Stems reach up to about 60 centimetres long. The bright green leaves are generally heart-shaped and up to 3 centimetres long. They are covered in very fine bumps. Bright pink to purplish flowers appear in the leaf axils and are open during the day. The fruit is a capsule just over a centimetre long.

The hybrid, Aptenia 'Red Apple', has, in some areas, escaped cultivation and now grows as an introduced species. Its far more vigorous growth and ability to root from small bits of stem makes it a poor choice for planting adjacent to wild lands as it can overwhelm native plants.

This post is part of the Floral Friday Fotos meme,
and also part of the Friday Greens meme.

PIGFACE

Mesembryanthemum (meaning "midday flowering" in Greek) is a genus of flowering plants native to southern Africa. Fig marigold or Icicle plant is a name for any of several South African taxa of Mesembryanthemum which are cultivated as ornamental plants for their showy pink or white flowers. "Pebble plant" or "Ice plant" are other but rather ambiguous common names, usually referring to other Aizoaceae.

The plant  is characterised by long-lasting flower heads. Flowers of Mesembryanthemum protect their gametes from night-time dews or frosts but open in sunlight. There is an obvious evolutionary advantage to doing this; where sun, dew, frost, wind or predators are likely to damage exposed reproductive organs, closing may be advantageous during times when flowers are unlikely to attract pollinators.

This post is part of the Nature Footsteps Floral Macros meme.

and also part of the Ruby Tuesday meme.