DESCRIPTION

This is a perennial ground-creeping plant with thick succulent stems and leaves like cactus. The stem is up to 2 m long. Their leaves are light green and sometimes purple at the end. They have waxing texture and triangular shape. They are folded upwards and round 10 cm long. Their fabulous flowers are similar to daisies. They are from 6 to 9 cm in diameter with plenty of interlaced purple, yellow or orangey petals. They blossom from spring to summer between May and June.

DISTRIBUTION AND HABITAT

Carpobrotusedulis is an exotic invasive plant, native of South Africa, which favours warm climates, and cannot live in relatively cold areas or during long freeze. It has completely disappeared in some areas after the periods of a very cold weather. These plants thrive during draughts, and on salty sandy soils, so they have been used for stabilising dunes and slopes along the coastline. Their natural distribution is between the sea level and 1000 m of altitude, but in this area they inhabit residential urban zones, farmland, and green zones made by human actions. They also live along the coastline and cliffs.

HOW THEY LIVE

They reproduce actively through runners or stolons, like grass, by forming roots on the stem nodes. They can quickly cover the ground, and their flowers are very attractive to insects which perform pollination, so they successfully reproduce by seeds. Ripe fruit are eaten by seagulls and small mammals (rabbits, rats, and so on), which help scatter the seeds through their droppings.

WHERE THEY CAN BE SEEN IN MÁLAGA

They are spread all over the Province of Málaga, besides colder areas with freeze. They are more likely to be found on the coastline, on dunes or sand, as well as on cliffs and rocks. They are not common in areas with high salinity.

INTERESTING FACTS

This species is a threat for native species and habitats, above all on the coast where it is considered to be rather invasive.Its other common names in English are ice plant, highway ice plant, or pigface. In Spanish its name means 'cat's claw' or 'lion's claw' due to the shape of its leaves.

SIMILAR SPECIES

This is a very peculiar plant, and therefore easy to be identified in nature or gardens.