Coastal Pig Face (Carpobrotus rossii)

Coastal Pig Face (Carpobrotus rossii)

Coastal Pig Face is commonly found on sand dunes and cliffs along the Victorian, South Australian and Tasmanian coastlines, also favouring sandy soils around coastal lakes and marshes and occasionally found slightly inland. Coastal Pig Face is one of many edible succulents. In late summer it bears sweet fruit and when the petals have dropped from it the pulp and seeds can be sucked out, tasting a bit like salty apple. The leaves are also edible as a vegetable and Aboriginal peoples use them as a salty accompaniment to various cooked meats. The juice from the leaves can also be used to relieve insect bites.

Soure: Indigenous plant use; A booklet on the medicinal, nutritional and technological use of indigenous plants; By Zena Cumpston; Clean Air and Urban Landscapes (CAUL) Hub in Melbourne 2020