The Hottentot Fig was named after an African tribe. The tribe
used this plant for food and medicine. Some people like to use it in their salad.
The Hottentot Fig's nickname is Sea Fig. It is also known as ice plant. Hottentot
Fig is not a native of California, Carpobrotuschilense is a native of
South America and Carpobrotus edulisis a native of South Africa. In California,
ice plant is used along freeways as ground cover and in erosion control. It
has been found, however, that the heavy weight of their growth often causes
slopes to slide after rains when the soil is saturated with water. It grows
like a vine on the ground. The leaves are long and full of water. If you cut
one in half you will see a triangle. They look like green french fries when
the plant is alive. When it is dead it looks like old sticks, twigs and dried
up roots.
There are lots of different colors of flowers like yellow, pink, red
and white. It looks like a sea anemone. It's not that the smell is so bad, it's
just that there is too much of it. Ice plant grows in the coastal sage and salt
marsh communities. It overlaps the native plants and kills them. The animals
that lived there before the Hottentot Fig, lose their homes and their grocery
stores.
