Hottentot Fig

Invasive

An invasive succulent from South Africa, introduced to the Berlengas in the 1950s to stabilise soil and banned in Portugal since 1999. Tolerant of sun, drought and salt, it forms dense mats almost impenetrable to other plants and has spread across the slopes of Berlenga and the Farilhões. It alters soil chemistry, blocks native germination, threatens rarities like the Berlengas thrift, and reduces Cory's shearwater nesting cavities; the LIFE Berlengas project has removed it by hand along contour strips.