Pigface
Carpobrotus rossii, C. glaucescens
Also known as: Pigface, Angular Sea Fig, Karkalla, Pigface Ice Plant
'Carpobrotus' comes from the Greek 'karpos' (fruit) and 'brotos' (edible/eaten by mortals) – the edible fruit. 'Rossii' honours Sir James Clark Ross, the Antarctic explorer. The Aboriginal name 'karkalla' is used in parts of South Australia. 'Pigface' is a somewhat unflattering English reference to the fleshy, somewhat face-like appearance of the flower bud. Pigface is one of Australia's most distinctive and beloved coastal plants – a succulent, mat-forming native perennial of the family Aizoaceae, found sprawling over coastal dunes, rocky headlands, and sea-cliff margins across southern Australia. Its brilliant magenta-pink flowers and fat, triangular succulent leaves are a quintessential feature of the Australian coastal landscape. The fruits are edible and were an important food source for Aboriginal Australians across coastal regions; the leaves are technically edible but astringent and not commonly eaten. Carpobrotus rossii is the southern species; C. glaucescens is the eastern coastal species – both are edible.
When to Forage
Fruit ripens mainly in summer–autumn (December–April). Leaves available year-round.
Cautions
Very safe. The fruit is eaten without concern. The leaves are astringent and not palatable, and are not typically eaten. Note that the introduced South African Carpobrotus edulis (highway ice plant) is also edible and very similar – but its widespread planting has made it invasive in some areas. Do not remove native Carpobrotus from protected areas.
Nutrition
Fruit: a source of simple sugars, vitamin C, and anthocyanin antioxidants. The flavour is sweet-salty with a strawberry-fig quality. Leaves: contain salt, potassium, and mucilaginous compounds. The sap has traditionally been used topically as a first-aid remedy for jellyfish stings, sunburn, and minor wounds – the mucilage is soothing.
How to Identify
- Low, ground-creeping, mat-forming succulent with long, trailing stems that root at nodes. Spreads outward over dunes and rocks.
- Leaves are triangular in cross-section – three-angled, fleshy, smooth, and bright green to sometimes reddish, typically 3–10 cm long. This triangular cross-section is the most reliable identification feature.
- Flowers are large (3–5 cm), daisy-like, composed of many narrow magenta-pink petals (ray florets) surrounding a yellow centre. Among the most vivid pink of any Australian coastal plant.
- Fruit is fleshy, succulent, fig-like in shape, green ripening to red-brown or tan-purple, topped by persistent sepals. Squeeze gently – ripe fruit gives easily.
- Leaves taste distinctly salty when bitten.
Lookalikes
A closely related native succulent with rounded (not triangular) leaf cross-section and smaller pink flowers. Also edible and found in similar coastal habitats.
Introduced from South Africa, now naturalised and invasive in some Australian coastal areas. Distinguishable by larger flowers (yellow-pink to pale yellow) and larger fruit. Also edible, but removing it from areas where it threatens native vegetation is environmentally beneficial.
How to Forage
Harvest ripe fruit by squeezing gently – ripe fruit should give slightly like a fig. Cut at the base and eat the sweet-salty flesh directly (squeeze the inside onto your tongue) or use in cooking. The sap squeezed from a broken leaf can be applied directly to jellyfish stings or sunburned skin.
Recipe — Pigface Fruit & Coastal Green Salsa
Ingredients: 10–12 ripe pigface fruits (flesh only, squeezed from skins); 1/2 red onion, very finely diced; 1 long red chilli, finely sliced; juice of 1 lime; small handful fresh coriander, torn; salt to taste. Method: Squeeze the sweet-salty flesh from each pigface fruit into a bowl. Discard seeds if preferred (they are edible but crunchy). Add diced red onion, chilli, and lime juice. Fold through coriander and taste for seasoning. Serve immediately with grilled tempeh, crispy tofu, or as a dip with seed crackers. Inspo: pigface and bush-tomato chutney – simmer ripe pigface flesh with dried bush tomato, sugar, and vinegar for a unique coastal preserve.
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