Iceplant (Carpobrotus edulis aka Hottentot Fig) has a bad reputation in California these days, although its usefulness was much valued by our grandparents' generation. It's an attractive, low-growing groundcover plant now considered invasive and governments are spending a lot of money ripping it out and replacing it with native plants.

But perhaps from a permaculture point of view it's worth another look? It's an amazing plant that performs multiple useful functions.

Yields an edible fruit which has been eaten by humans since archeological times. Fruit is fleshy, 35 mm in diameter, shaped like a spinning top, on a winged stalk, becoming yellow and fragrant when ripe. The outer wall of the fruit becomes yellowish, wrinkled and leathery with age. The seeds are embedded in the sticky, sweet, jelly-like mucilage. The fruits can be eaten fresh and they have a strong, astringent, salty, sour taste. They are not as tasty as those of C. acinaciformis (purple iceplant, can be used to make delicious jam) and C. deliciosus (purple or pink iceplant) which are sweeter. See http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantcd/carpobed.htm
Edible by some wildlife as well. Flowers draw bees and are also eaten by animals. In S. Africa, leaves are eaten by tortoises.

Holds water and thus is an effective fire-resistant barrier around house or in foothills in fire-prone areas.

Drought tolerant
A coastal plant
Low maintenance. Vigorous and will grow where little else wants to grow
Wind resistant
Controls erosion by binding hillsides, stabilizing sandy dunes.
Shallow-rooting so good for roof gardens
Like most succulents, a useful "living mulch" groundcover.
"Can be planted on flat, sandy ground, on loose sand dunes, gravelly gardens, lime-rich and brackish soils as well as in containers, rockeries, embankments and will cascade over terrace walls."
Pretty yellow flowers and attractive rusty coloration even when not in bloom (you can see its autumnal-toned beauty in many paintings of coastal California scenes).
Has medicinal uses and is a first-aid plant. "The leaf juice is astringent and mildly antiseptic. It is mixed with water and swallowed to treat diarrhea, dysentery and stomach cramps, and is used as a gargle to relieve laryngitis, sore throat and mouth infections. Chewing a leaf tip and swallowing the juice is enough to ease a sore throat. Leaf juice or a crushed leaf is a famous soothing cure for blue-bottle stings - being a coastal plant it is luckily often on hand in times of such emergencies. The leaf juice is used as a soothing lotion for burns, bruises, scrapes, cuts, grazes and sunburn, ringworm, eczema, dermatitis, sunburn, herpes, nappy rash, thrush, cold sores, cracked lips, chafing, skin conditions and allergies...The leaf juice also relieves the itch from mosquito, tick and spider bites both for people and their animal companions. In the Eastern Cape of South africa it is also used to treat diabetes and diptheria."

So what do you think? It is worth another look? Could this be a useful plant for various garden and permaculture designs? Or should it be shunned as uncontrollable?

Linda