October 2019 - enjoysucculents

Curio sulcicalyx

This interesting little plant from southern Namibia and Namaqualand (as far south as Bitterfontein), comes under a variety of names: Senecio sulcicalyx, S. klinghardtianus, S. iosensis, Othonna/Senecio/Kleinia pusilla (pusillus).
It has a preference for rock crevices.

A great part of the plant is underground with rhizomes and tuberous roots.
The branches are up to 5 cm long. The leaves are 1 -2.5 cm long and 0.7-1.2 cm wide, sometimes shortly hairy.
Although the flower heads are usually white to mauve, in certain forms they are yellow; they appear from February to July.

Aloe arenicola (bont-ot’korrie, sand aloe, sand aalwyn)

This species only occurs on the very dry sandy* coastal plain on the west coast of South Africa, from the mouth of the Orange river in the north to Lambert’s Bay in the south.
Most of the moisture in this narrow strip is provided by mist from the Atlantic. As a result of mining activities and overgrazing, the species is considered to be vulnerable.

The plants form dense groups 15-40 cm tall. These consist of numerous creeping stems up to 1 m long of which only the leafy upper 20-30 cm are erect. The leaves are up to 20 cm long.
Flowering takes place from July in the north to January in the south.

Juvenile plants differ greatly in appearance, having thin stems with long internodes and small leaves. This is the form most often seen in cultivation, where it is often grown as a hanging plant.

*arenicola = sand dweller.