Plants of
South Australia
Carpobrotus rossii
Aizoaceae
Angular Pig-face,
Karkalla,
Native Pigface
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Regional Species Conservation Assessments per IBRA subregion.
Least concern
Near threatened
Rare
Vulnerable
Endangered
Critically endangered
Extinct
Data deficient
Adelaide
Arkaroola
Ceduna
Coober Pedy
Hawker
Innamincka
Marla
Marree
Mount Gambier
Oodnadatta
Renmark
Wudinna
Keith
Yunta
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Botanical art

Kath Alcock paintings: 5

Prior names

Mesembryanthemum rossii

Carpobrotus aequilaterus, partly

Common names

Angular Pig-face

Karkalla

Native Pigface

Etymology

Carpobrotus from the Greek 'karpos' meaning fruit and 'brotos' meaning edible, referring to the succulent fruit which was eaten traditionally by Aboringinal people. Rossii named after William J. Clunies-Ross (1850-1914), a college lecturer, scientist and botanical collector who first collected the plant.

Distribution and status

Found across the southern part of South Australia from the west coast to the lower South-east growing mainly on coastal dunes. Also found in Western Australia, Victoria and Tasmania. Native. Common in South Australia. Common in the other States.
Herbarium regions: Nullarbor, Flinders Ranges, Eyre Peninsula, Northern Lofty, Yorke Peninsula, Southern Lofty, Kangaroo Island, South Eastern, Green Adelaide
NRM regions: Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges, Alinytjara Wilurara, Eyre Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, Northern and Yorke, South Australian Arid Lands, South East
AVH map: SA distribution map (external link)

Plant description

Prostrate, succulent perennial plant with stems to 1 m long or more and 11 mm diameter. Leaves to 10 cm long and 11 mm thick, usually distinctly incurved, green to glaucous, usually thicker than wide near the middle with faces usually slightly convex. Flowers large, daisy-liked, light purple merging to white at and near base. Flowering between August and October. Fruits are fleshy, plump red globular fruit to 25 mm long, slightly compressed. Seeds are semi-flat reniform brown seed to 1.5 mm long and 0.8 mm wide. Seed embryo type is peripheral.

Seed collection and propagation

Collect seeds between November and January. Collect mature fruits, those that are fat and turning red with brown seeds inside. Break open the fruits and wash the content in water. Drain the liquid leaving behind the seeds. Place the wet seeds onto paper towels and leave to dry. Store the seeds with a desiccant such as dried silica beads or dry rice, in an air tight container in a cool and dry place. Seed viability is usually high. Seeds are non-dormant, viable seed should germinate readily without any treatment.

Seeds stored:
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LocationNo. of seeds
(weight grams)
Number
of plants
Date
collected
Collection number
Collection location
Date
stored
% ViabilityStorage
temperature
BGA 
MSB
32,100 (7.2 g)
32,100 (7.2 g)
433-Nov-2005DJD104
South Eastern
28-Mar-2006100%-18°C
Location: BGA — the seeds are stored at the Adelaide Botanic Gardens, MSB — the seeds are stored at the Millennium Seed Bank, Kew, England.
Number of plants: This is the number of plants from which the seeds were collected.
Collection location: The Herbarium of South Australia's region name.
% Viability: Percentage of filled healthy seeds determined by a cut test or x-ray.