Carpobrotus edulis, Mesembryanthemum edule,
Hottentot-fig, ice plant, highway ice plant,
Hebrew: צלקנית נאכלת, Arabic: أصابع الجارية

Scientific name:		Carpobrotus edulis (L.) N.E. Br
Synonym name:		Mesembryanthemum edule L
Common name:		Hottentot-fig, ice plant, highway ice plant, pigface, sour fig
Hebrew name:		צלקנית נאכלת
Arabic name:		أصابع الجارية
Family:		Aizoaceae, Fig-marigold family, חיעדיים

Life form:		Succulent perennial, mat-forming
Succulence:		Stem + leaf succulent
Stems:		Horizontal stems
Leaves:		Long tapering leaves, 1.2cm in diameter, 13cm long; 3-angled, triangular in cross-section with tiny serrations along the outermost angle
Flowers:		Solitary, 10–15cm in diameter, yellow, fading to pale pink; sepals pointy; flower base tapering into a pedicel
Fruits / pods:		Fleshy, indehiscent and edible, 35mm in diameter, becoming yellow and fragrant when ripe. The outer wall of the fruit becomes yellowish, wrinkled and leathery with age. The seeds are embedded in the sticky, sweet, jelly-like mucilage.
Flowering Period:		May, June, July
Habitat:		Mediterranean strand
Distribution:		Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands
Summer shedding:		Ephemeral

Derivation of the botanical name: Carpobrotus , karpós, καρπός, "fruit"; brōtós,βρωτός, "edible"; edible fruit. edulis, eatable. Mesembryanthemum , mesembrianthemum, Greek, mesembria, "midday"; anthemon, "flower"; in allusion to the fact that the only species then known all bloomed at noon. When species of other habits became known, the genus was renamed mesembryanthemum. As now spelled, the derivation is mesos, "middle"; embryon, "fruit"; anthemon, "flower." The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy. The standard author abbreviation N.E. Br is used to indicate Nicholas Edward Brown (1849 – 1934), an English plant taxonomist and authority on succulents. Carpobrotus edulis are pollinated by solitary bees, honey bees, carpenter bees and many beetle species. An individual branch of the Carpobrotus edulis can elongate more than 1m in a year. Branches tend to grow over each other, resulting in the accumulation of up to 40cm of live and dead plant material. Stems exhibit vine like growth and can crawl over shrubs, fences and other obstacles. Rooting occurs at nodes in contact with the soil surface.