Succulents

Ice-plant Family - Aizoaceae

Hottentot-fig Carpobrotus edulis

Native to South Africa but widely introduced elsewhere as a garden ornamental and often becoming a problematic invasive. Leaves up to 14cm long, more or less parallel-sided for much of their length and narrowing to a tapered point at the tip (though beware of leaves on short sideshoots which can be more curved). When seen in cross-section, the leaves are more or less equal in width and depth. Flowers 4.5-10cm across, creamy yellow or bright pink.


Habit	Flower	Flower	Fruit

Leaves	Leaves	Leaves	Leaf cross-section (lower leaf)

Sally-my-handsome Carpobrotus acinaciformis

Native to South Africa but widely introduced elsewhere as a garden ornamental and often becoming a problematic invasive. Leaves up to 10cm long, less parallel-sided and more curved than those of Hottentot-fig and more broadly curved towards the tip. When seen in cross-section, the leaves are deeper than wide. Flowers 7-10cm across, bright carmine pink.


Flowers	Flower	Leaves	Leaves

Leaf cross-section (upper leaf)

Slender-leaved Iceplant Mesembryanthemum nodiflorum

Native in the Canary Islands and eastward through the Mediterranean basin to the Middle East.


Habit	Habit	Flower	Flower

Leaves	Leaves	Leaves

Heart-leaved Iceplant Mesembryanthemum cordifolium

Introduced to Europe and the Canary Islands from South Africa as a garden plant.


Habit	Habit	Flowers	Flower

Flower	Flower	Leaves	Leaf

Purslane Family - Portulacaceae

Common Purslane Portulaca oleracea

Native from Macaronesia eastward through much of Africa, the Mediterranean Region and the Middle East. A weed of pavements and urban areas. This is an aggregate of species that can be very difficult to tell apart and often impossible without a hand lens or microscope to study the surface texture of the seeds.


Habit	Flower	Flower

Leaves	Leaf

Cactus Family - Cactaceae

Common Prickly-pear Opuntia ficus-indica

Native to Mexico but widely introduced throughout warmer parts of the world and a serious invasive alien in many places. Flowers usually yellow but occasionally orange.


Habit	Habit	Stems	Stems

Flowers	Fruits	Fruit

Bunny Ears Prickly-pear Opuntia microdasys

Native to Mexico but introduced throughout warmer parts of the world. Sometimes found where planted along fence lines or near farms. Readily told by the lack of spines and presence of dense tufts of barb-tipped 'glochids'.


Habit	Habit	Flower bud

Stems	Stems

Flora of Lesvos An Identification Guide

Succulents

Ice-plant Family - Aizoaceae

Purslane Family - Portulacaceae

Cactus Family - Cactaceae

Species List

Flora of Lesvos
An Identification Guide