Species name :

Carpobrotus acinaciformis s.str.(L.) L. Bolus
Published in Fl. Pl. South Africa 7: t. 247 (1927)

Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.)

Mesembryanthemum acinaciforme L.

Full list of synonyms : [Euro+Med] [WFO] [IPNI] [POWO] [Catalogue of Life] [Worldplants.de]

Plant Family :

Aizooaceae Rudolphi (The Fig-Marigold Family)
18 species from the Aizooaceae family are recorded from the Maltese Islands.

English name(s) :

Glaucous Hottenot Fig, Point Sourfig Iceplant

Maltese name(s) :

Xuxet San Ġwann iż-żgħira, Is-Swaba tal-Madonna iż-żgħira

Status for Malta :

Invasive Alien. Species that was introduced in Malta any time after year 1492 (Columbus' discovery of the New World), and spreads rapidly to form large invasive populations to the detriment of native flora or ecosystems.

Frequency :

Very Common     Common    Frequent    Scarce     Rare    Very rare    Extinct

Growth form :

Germination type [info]: Dicotyledon
Raunkiaer lifeform [info]: Chameophyte ( small woody shrubs with vegetative buds well above the ground )

Legal Protection :

Not legally protected till the last update of this website (22/Aug/2025)

Red List (1989) :

Not listed in the Red Data Book of the Maltese Islands

Flowering Time :

March – June

Colour of Flowers:

Violet

Toxicity:

Not particularly toxic

Name Derivation :

Carpobrotus: ()

acinaciformis s.str.: ()

Planting in rural areas :

Cannot be planted in the wild (rural areas) since the species may be invasive (see ERA guidelines)

Remarks :

This species is closely related to Carpobrotus edulis which apparently, in local literature there is confusion betwen the two. Conclusive identification relies on dissecting the flower and examine the number of locules and the longitudinal shape of receptacle, however if the longest sepals are up to 30mm long, flowers are purple-magenta, leaves scimitar shaped with isosceles triangular cross section, then the specimen is most likely C. acinaciformis . About 95% of the specimens examined, resulted to be C. acinaciformis in Malta, hence the use of C. edulis as the purple-flowering invasive species has to be ammended to C. acinaciformis .