''Carpobrotus muirii'' (commonly known as dwarf sourfig or Dwerg Suurvy) is a succulent

perennial A perennial plant or simply perennial is a plant that lives more than two years. The term ('' per-'' + '' -ennial'', "through the years") is often used to differentiate a plant from shorter-lived annuals and biennials. The term is also wid ...

of the family

Aizoaceae The Aizoaceae, or fig-marigold family, is a large family of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing 135 genera and about 1800 species. They are commonly known as ice plants or carpet weeds. They are often called vygies in South Africa and Ne ...

, native to the

Overberg __NOTOC__ Overberg is a region in South Africa to the east of Cape Town beyond the Hottentots-Holland mountains. It lies along the Western Cape Province's south coast between the Cape Peninsula and the region known as the Garden Route in the ...

region in the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

Description

This species of '' Carpobrotus'' has distinctively slender (40–80mm x 5–6 mm), incurved, glaucous-green leaves. Its receptacle is subglobose to ovate, with a base that narrows rather abruptly where it meets the stalk. The ovary has a top that is usually flat-to-depressed in the centre.

Related species

Of the other six '' Carpobrotus'' species which occur in South Africa, this species is particularly closely related to '' Carpobrotus deliciosus'', which has a similar shaped receptacle, but the latter is a much larger plant that occurs further to the east, mainly in the Eastern Cape. The dwarf sourfig has much thinner, narrower leaves, and only occurs in the

Distribution

This species has a small distribution range, being restricted to the

region in the

. It occurs on coastal limestones near the towns of Heidelberg and Riversdale. Along the coast it can be found from Arniston and De Hoop, as far east as Stilbaai. Here it is found in coastal limestone or Strandveld vegetation, usually within ten kilometres of the coast. Its sweet edible fruits are grazed by tortoises and other southern African animals, and are also used locally to make traditional preserves. Its natural range is declining due to alien invasive species and wheat farming.

References

muirii Renosterveld Taxa named by Louisa Bolus Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Aizoaceae-stub