Most plants in the aizoaceae, the ice plant or fig-marigold family, are native to southern Africa, with a few species from the Pacific region, but they have been established in many other countries, mainly warm coastal regions. Just one species is relatively widespread in the UK, carpobrotus edulis, plus a few others much more localised, in Cornwall and the Scilly Isles. In general, aizoaceae plants are succulents, with fleshy, evergreen leaves, and flowers formed of five sepals and numerous narrow, linear, brightly-coloured, petal-like stamens.
