Why is it called Pig Face?

The name refers to its edible fruits, “karpos” meaning fruit and “brota” meaning edible in Greek. Common names include ice plant and pigface, so called because the flower resembles a pig’s face – an association that will require a high level of imagination!

Is pig face plant poisonous?

Unlike many succulents, it has no spikes, scales or prickles so it’s great for a child-friendly garden. Its botanical name is Carpobrotus glaucescens, which is botanical speak for edible fruit, but the flowers and juicy leaves are also edible.

How do you eat Carpobrotus?

The red-purple fruit has a flavour described by some as like salty strawberry or kiwi fruit and by others as like salty apples1. Its thick, fleshy leaves can also be eaten – raw or cooked (the roasted leaves may be used as a salt substitute) and the juice from the leaves can be used to soothe stings or burnt skin2.

What does pig face look like?

Pig Face is a low growing ground cover that has thick fleshy smooth foliage that is triangular in shape. It produces daisy like flowers during Spring and Summer but also can flower sporadically throughout the year. The colours can come in shades of pink, purple, orange, yellow and white.

Is Carpobrotus edible?

The delicious red fruits are safe to eat. The name, Carpobrotus, refers to the edible fruits – coming from the Ancient Greek karpos “fruit” and brotos “edible”. Pigface was harvested and used a lot by indigenous Australians both as food and medicine. Early European explorers used the plant as an anti-scurvy treatment.

Can dogs eat pig face?

Every part of this plant is edible and/or medicinal – the leaves can be used like aloe vera to lessen stings and burns of the skin, as well as eaten raw or cooked.

Can you eat Carpobrotus?

Is Carpobrotus edulis edible?

Its leaves are edible, as are its fruit, as with some other members of the family Aizoaceae. In South Africa the sour fig’s ripe fruit are gathered and either eaten fresh or made into a very tart jam.

Does pig face spread?

Native to Southern Africa, Pig Face 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.

How do you propagate carpobrotus?

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.

Are cactus poisonous to dogs?

Cactus are not toxic if consumed, but their sharp spines make them hazardous to pets all the same. Take particular care with members of the Opuntia (Prickly Pear) genus. They don’t always have long spines, but they do have tiny, barbed glochids.