Month: December 2020

Euphorbia tuberosa (incl. E. crispa)

Common names: Melkbol, Wilderamenas

This member of a small group of geophytic Euphorbias has underground tubers up to 2.5 cm thick which can form large groups. The plants are stemless and either male or female.

Its leaves have a stalk up to 5 cm long and may be oblong to almost lanceolate, linear or elliptic,1 to 5 cm long and 0.5 to 2.5 cm wide, often minutely hairy and grey-green, usually with wavy margins. They are only present in the growing period.
The flowering season is mainly June-September.

The species occurs on sandy and gravelly flats and slopes from near Springbok to the Cape Peninsula and the western part of the Little Karoo.

 

 

 

Tylecodon ventricosus (incl. T. jarmiliae)

Common name  klipnenta.
This is one of the most widespread Tylecodons, which probably explains the great variability of the species.

The plants have tuberous roots, with one stem or with several short or long stems (to 20 cm tall), forming small groups to ± 30 cm in diameter. The stems are erect to spreading and at least 8 mm thick, often with short to long phyllopodia (leaf bases).
Leaves are dry at flowering, green to yellowish-green, flattened, with great variation in shape (very narrow to lance- to heart-shaped) and size (3-9 x 0.5-2 cm) and with or without hairs or glands.
The erect to spreading flowers are arranged in an inflorescence up to 50 cm tall. They possess a corolla tube 1.6-2 cm long and 0.8-1.1 cm wide, which is much swollen (= ventricosus) about the middle and are yellowish-green streaked with purplish brown. Flowering time is between September and March.

Distribution
Occurring in rock crevices and on stony or sandy slopes, often under shrubs.
Widespread from the Richtersveld to Piketberg and the Little Karoo and eastwards to near De Aar and Jansenville. In most of this area, rain occurs mainly in winter.

Apparently, the plants are very toxic to stock.