Scientific name: Portulacaria afra
This succulent plant can be found over a wide range of warm habitats along the Eastern parts of Southern Africa, from the Eastern Cape into KwaZulu-Natal, Swaziland, Mpumalanga and the Limpopo Province as well as into Mozambique. The species has a number of forms, but usually occurs as a medium sized shrub to small tree, bearing fine pink flowers that look a bit like cotton candy from a distance.
The leaves are edible and sour, with the sour flavour being strongest in the morning, and less marked in the late afternoon. This is related to one of the two ways the plant can bind carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, technically known as Crassulacean Acid Metabolism (CAM), and is a reason this plant is widely known as a "carbon sponge", particularly in marginal environments.