Senecio cotyledonis (1)

When the Swiss botanist  Augustin de Candolle described this species in 1838, he apparently saw a likeness to a Cotyledon. But when I ran through the mental pictures of Cotyledons that I know, I wondered what resemblance he could have had in mind. So, some detective work was called for.
Did de Candolle compare his new species to a plant that at that moment was incorporated in Cotyledon, but now belongs in another genus? That is certainly a possibility, as no less than 471 plant names have been associated with the genus at some stage.
On the other hand, looking through “Cotyledon and Tylecodon” by Van Jaarsveld and Koutnik, it struck me that some narrow-leaved forms of C. orbiculata could well have been the inspiration for de Candolle’s name. Let’s not forget that he probably knew many plants from descriptions or at best from black and white drawings, rather than from live material. In the book I just mentioned, there are a few reproduction of old illustrations. One dates  back to 1701 and represents Cotyledon africana frutescens, folio longo & angusto…. ( the shrubby Cotyledon from Africa, with long, narrow leaves), which is now known as C. orbiculata var. spuria. This picture may well have spurred (pun intended) the author to use his epithet.

Well, enough of historical speculation, let’s move to present-day  reality.
S. cotyledonis is a shrub of up to 1 m tall, with thickish stems and succulent triangular to almost round leaves up to 5 cm long and about 3 mm wide. The leaves give off an unpleasant smell when damaged, which is why it is called stinkbos in Afrikaans.
The plants flower in spring. They are  widespread from Namibia to the eastern part of the Little Karoo. Usually they are found on dry stony slopes, but sometimes they are abundant in clayey soils.

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To be continued.

Senecio (Kleinia) polytomus

Polytomus means something like much divided and refers to the fact that the plants are much more branched than in otherwise similar species like S. scottii and S. odora.
In nature the plants form compact shrubs up to about a meter tall; in cultivation they may reach 3 m.
They are locally common in the Sanaag region of northern Somaliland in dry bush land on stony plains and slopes at altitudes between 1000 and 1900 m.
The flowers range in colour from white and yellow to pink, purple and magenta. They usually appear in October and November, but the accompanying pictures were made in late January.

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Euphorbia ballyi (1)

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This little known species has a limited distribution on exposed south-facing limestone slopes and gravelly plains with sparse scrub in the Sanaag region of eastern Somaliland at an altitude of  1350-2000 m.
The plants form compact sturdy shrubs up to 1.5 m high; the branches have 4-6 angled segments 3-4 cm long and 4-7 cm wide, with a continuous horny margin and strong  spines to 2.5 cm long.

To be continued.

Monsonia (Sarcocaulon) crassicaulis, part 2

The plants form shrubs up to 75 cm tall and seem to prefer stony plains and low ridges. Their thick stems (up to 2 cm thick) have a hard skin containing large quantities of resin and wax. This impervious layer is an excellent way of preventing desiccation.
It also means that the stems can be easily ignited to act as a candle or start a fire.
When you have a good look at the first three pictures, you will notice that the spines start out as leaf stalks, which after a while shed the leaf blades and become hard and rigid.

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To be continued.

Monsonia (Sarcocaulon) crassicaulis, part 1

Together with M. salmoniflora  this is the most common succulent Monsonia. The plants are widely distributed in the southwestern part of Namibia and the winter rainfall area of South Africa. They grow here mainly in winter from May to July and flower mostly from August to early November. The species also occurs in the summer rainfall regions of Bushmanland and the Great Karoo, where they are dormant from May to August and grow in spring and autumn. Not surprisingly one can also find them in the transitional zones between the summer and winter rainfall areas.

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To be continued.