When I saw these peculiar plants first (1 April 2012), I was quite surprised, especially because there were so many of them. If it had not been in such a remote area I might even have wondered if someone was trying to make an April-fool of me.
Of the literature at my disposal, only the Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants came up with a name and a description. It also told me that the species used to be a member of the genus Monilaria.
The pictures were taken at Riethuis in Namaqualand and show plants in the resting stage. When they are in active growth, the plants look totally different, with much longer leaves (up to 70 mm long instead of at most 17 mm in the resting period). You can see the remains of these long leaves on top of the “globes”
Although the plants occur in a small area only, they form large populations there.
