The Ice PlantCarpobrotus edulis is a member of the Stone Plant family Aizoaceae, one of about 30 species in the genus Carpobrotus. It is also known as the Pigface or Hottentot Fig. It was previously classified in genusMesembryanthemum and is sometimes referred to by this name. The name "Ice Plant" is sometimes also used for other related plant species.
The Ice Plant is a native of South Africa. Its succulent foliage, bright magenta or yellow flowers, and resistance to some harsh coastal climatic conditions make it a favoured garden plant; because it forms a carpet-like mass, it has been used for stabilising embankments. However, because it forms weak roots, entire masses of it can slide off slopes. The fruit is edible. In several parts of the world, notably Australia, California and the Mediterranean, the Ice Plant has escaped from cultivation and has become an invasive species and poses a serious ecological problem.
Control of Ice Plants can be attempted by pulling out individual plants by hand, though it is necessary to remove buried stems, and mulch the soil to prevent re-establishment. It is claimed that large mats can be removed by rolling them up like a carpet. For chemical control, glyphosate herbicides are used.
Hottentotfig is a succulent which stores water in swollen leaves [2.3-3.7 inches (6 - 10 centimeters) long, 0.4-0.8 inches (10-15 millimeters) wide] or stems enabling it to survive in a drought or after being uprooted.
Hottentotfig has large flowers 1.2-1.5 inches (3-4 centimeters) wide and are light pink to pale yellow in color.
A, a Bushwoman (the famous 'Hottentot Venus'); B, a Korana woman; C, the external genitalia of a Bushwoman, standing upright; D. the same, of a Bushwoman lying down with the labia minora separated and turned aside.
This is what Darwin implied in the case of Hottentot women, in whom 'the posterior part of the body projects in a wonderful manner.' He mentions the admiration felt for this peculiarity by the males of their tribe.
This should indeed not have surprised him; for he wrote his work on sexual selection at the time when bustles were in fashion in England, and he must have realized that the women who wore them were under the impression that this change in their appearance increased their charms for members of the opposite sex.
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