Coastal pigface facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Coastal pigface
Carpobrotus virescens on Rottnest Island
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Tracheophytes
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Aizoaceae
Genus:	Carpobrotus
Species:	C. virescens
Binomial name
Carpobrotus virescens (Haw.) Schwantes
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Carpobrotus virescens, also known as coastal pigface, is a cool plant that grows flat along the ground. It's a type of succulent, which means it stores water in its leaves. This plant belongs to the Aizoaceae family and naturally grows in Western Australia. The Noongar people, who are Indigenous Australians, call this plant Kolbogo or Metjarak.

What Does It Look Like?

This plant grows flat on the ground, spreading out with stems up to 1.5 meters (about 5 feet) long. Its leaves are green and can be 3.5 to 9 centimeters (1½ to 3½ inches) long. They are about 9 to 17 millimeters wide.

The flowers are quite large, usually four to six centimeters across. They grow on a small stalk called a pedicel, which is about five to 15 millimeters long. Each flower has many parts! It has 250 to 300 stamens, which are the parts that make pollen. These are surrounded by parts that look like petals, called staminodes. These staminodes are mostly purple, but they are white near the bottom.

Where Does It Grow?

Carpobrotus virescens is found only in Western Australia. It grows along the coast on limestone cliffs and sand dunes. You can find it from the western edge of the Great Australian Bight all the way west and north towards Shark Bay. There's also one place it's been found further north, near North West Cape.