Species name :

Carpobrotus edulis(L.) N.E.Br.
Published in Gen. S. Afr. Fl. Pl. 249 (1926)

Synonyms :
(basionym or principal syn.)

Mesembryanthemum edule 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) :

Hottenot Fig, Kaffir Fig

Maltese name(s) :

Xuxet San Ġwann is-safra, Is-Swaba tal-Madonna is-safra

Status for Malta :

Casual or accidental alien. Species that was introduced in Malta rather recently and normally it is short-lived or resticted to small populations for a short time, without becoming widespread or invasive.

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 or Yellow

Toxicity:

Not particularly toxic

Name Derivation :

Carpobrotus: ()

edulis: ()

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 acinaciformis 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 long sepals of about 40-60mm, yellow flowers and straight leaves with equilateral triangular cross section are highly indicative of C. edulis . The variety C. edulis var. rubescens Druce (and perhaps artifial hybrids such as var. chrysophthalmus C.D.Preston & P.D.Sell) has purple flowers hence the colour of flowers is not enough to determine between the two species. Nevertheless, 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 .