Description

Carpobrotus dimidiatus (commonly known as Natal sour-fig) is a succulent perennial of the family Aizoaceae, native to KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

The flowers of this Carpobrotus (“Sour-fig”) species range bright pink to mauve. It can be difficult to distinguish from the other 5 southern African sour-fig species, but its leaves are long, thin and equilateral triangular in cross-section. This species’s flower base is also strongly and distinctively double-ridged.

Their natural habitat is the coast of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, also stretching south into the Eastern Cape and north into Mozambique.

Plant Care and Cultivation of Carpobrotus dimidiatus

It needs well-drained soil, a sunny position, and room to spread. It is an excellent evergreen, drought- and wind-resistant groundcover; it can be planted on flat, sandy ground, on loose sand dunes, lime-rich and brackish soils, and gravelly gardens, as well as in containers, rockeries, and embankments, and will cascade over terrace walls.

Ice plants grow year round, with individual shoot segments growing more than 3 ft (1 m) per year. Ice plants can grow to at least 165 ft (50 m) in diameter.

Flowers are produced mainly during late winter-spring (August–October). They open in the morning in bright sunlight, and close at night.^[4]

Distribution of Carpobrotus dimidiatus

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.

Ecology of Carpobrotus dimidiatus

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, tortoises, 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.^[4]

Uses of the sour fig or suurvygie

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. The fruit of Carpobrotus dimidiatus are not as large and desirable as the Carpobrotus edulis.

Mainly practiced in South Africa, the different parts of the Carpobrotus dimidiatus are used in different forms in traditional medicine. Mostly, the fruits and flowers are eaten raw or cooked for fungal and bacterial infections.^[2] The leaves can be ingested orally for digestive problems or the juice can be sucked out to help a sore throat.^[3] The juice can also be mixed into a lotion base and used for external issues such as ringworm, bruises, sunburns, and cracked lips.^[3]

Plants Shop Africa can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.

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References

1. “Carpobrotus dimidiatus”. PlantZAfrica.com. Retrieved 2013-03-23.
2.  Mudimba, Toonse (2019). “Traditional uses, phytochemiscy and pharmacoligcal activity of Carpobrotus eduilis: A global perspective” (PDF). The Journal of Phytopharmacology 2019: 111. doi:10.31254/phyto.2019.8305.
3. “Carpobrotus edulis – Useful Tropical Plants”. tropical.theferns.info. Retrieved 2020-11-09.
4.  “Carpobrotus edulis(L.) L.Bolus”.

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This article uses material from the Wikipedia article “Carpobrotus dimidiatus”, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0.