Carpobrotus rossii
Pig face
Pig face
Wikipedia links: Angiosperms > Eudicots > Basal Asterids > Caryophyllales > Aizoaceae > Carpobrotus rossii
Other links:
Common name: ...
Conservation status: ...
Etymology:
Flowers
Fruit:
Leaves:
Stem & branches:
Roots:
Habit:
Habitat:
Distribution:
Additional notes:
Common name: Pig face
Also, karkalla, sea fig and beach bananas
Conservation status: . . .
Etymology:
x
Flowers:
The flowers are light purple in colour, and 6 cm wide
Fruit:
The globular purplish red fruit is about 2.5 cm long and 1.5 cm wide
Leaves:
Karkalla leaves are succulent, 3.5–10 cm long and 1 cm wide,
They are curved or rarely straight
Stem & branches:
Roots:
Habit:
A succulent coastal groundcover plant
Habitat:
It can be found year-round in large patches covering sand dunes close to the ocean
This is due to its hardy nature and salt resistance
Distribution:
Native to southern Australia
The species occurs in the states of Western Australia, South Australia, Tasmania and Victoria
Additional notes:
C.rossii can be confused with rounded noon-flower Disphyma crassifolium subsp. clavellatum, which has also been erroneously called "karkalla" and "beach bananas" in the Australian native food trade
Uses
Aboriginal people eat the fruit traditionally, fresh and dried
The salty leaves were also reported to have been eaten with meat
The salty edible leaves should not be confused with rounded noon-flower, which also has edible leaves and is marketed as "karkalla"
Extracts of the plant have significant in vitro antioxidant, antiplatelet, and anti-inflammatory activity
Sources of information: