Carpobrotus modestus
S.T.Blake Inland PigfaceStems to c. 50 cm long, 3–8 mm diam. Leaves 3–7 cm long, 4–9 mm thick, glaucous, often tinged pink, mostly slightly thicker than wide near the middle, faces flat to slightly convex, the keel smooth or crenulate near the apex. Flowers mostly c. 2 cm diam., subsessile; calyx tube oblong or slightly tapered to base, slightly compressed, acutely 2-angled toward base, slightly expanded near apex; sepals 5, rarely 4, the 2 longest 8–18 mm long, keels smooth; petaloid staminodes c. 45–60, 6–12 mm long, in 3 series, light purple merging to white at and near base, streaked brown close to the midline when dry; stamens c. 20–100, in 1–3 series; ovary flat on top; styles 6–10, united into a column for c. 0.5 mm at base. Fruit narrowly ellipsoid to obovoid, slightly compressed, weakly 2-angled, 1.5–2 cm long. Flowers mainly Sep.–Feb.
LoM, MuM, Wim, GleP, VVP, VRiv, MSB, RobP, MuF, GipP, OtP, Gold, CVU, GGr, DunT, EGL, WPro, HSF, OtR. Also WA, SA, ?NSW. Not uncommon on shallow, often rocky soils and deeper mallee sands in drier areas in the west of the State.
See note under Carpobrotus aff. rossii (N.W. Victoria).
Walsh, N.G. (1996). Aizoaceae. In: Walsh, N.G.; Entwisle, T.J., Flora of Victoria Vol. 3, Dicotyledons Winteraceae to Myrtaceae, pp. 105–119. Inkata Press, Melbourne.