Author: Frans Noltee

Bulbine triebneri

Until very recently I had never heard or seen this name; it is not even mentioned in the Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants (2001). Strangely enough I had seen plants of this species on several occasions, but nobody seemed to know what it was. According to some people it was a white-flowered form of B. frutescens, while others said it had been described “not long ago” as a new species.  Searching through the literature did not yield concrete information either.
Ten days ago I was on a fieldtrip with members of CREW, the Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wildflowers (crew@sanbi.org.za).  In the plain between Ouberg and Anysberg we came across several specimens of a white-flowered Bulbine and Marion Maclean casually mentioned the name Bulbine triebneri.
After returning home I found out that Ernst van Jaarsveld had described the species in 2001 as B. alba, but that in 2008 the new species was sunk into the older B. triebneri (Bothalia 38,1).
Of the over 70 species of Bulbine this is the only one with white flowers. It differs from its nearest relative, B. frutescens also by the soft, glaucous, more or less round leaves.
Plants are found in the Little Karoo and the southern Great Karoo, where it is locally abundant on shale ridges and scree. The species also occurs in the Eastern and Northern Cape and in southern Namibia.

In the Bothalia article it says: “The most interesting feature of this species is that the
flowers seemingly open only in the very late afternoon for two to three hours at most.”
In spite of this, the first of the pictures shown here was taken at 7.20 AM and the other three between 12.39 and 13.33 PM.

bulbtrie 0466

bulbtrie 0649

bulbtrie 2009-09-12#013

bulbtrie 2009-11-03#008

Bulbine triebneri

Until very recently I had never heard or seen this name; it is not even mentioned in the Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants (2001). Strangely enough I had seen plants of this species on several occasions, but nobody seemed to know what it was. According to some people it was a white-flowered form of B. frutescens, while others said it had been described “not long ago” as a new species.  Searching through the literature did not yield concrete information either.
Ten days ago I was on a fieldtrip with members of CREW, the Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wildflowers (crew@sanbi.org.za).  In the plain between Ouberg and Anysberg we came across several specimens of a white-flowered Bulbine and Marion Maclean casually mentioned the name Bulbine triebneri.
After returning home I found out that Ernst van Jaarsveld had described the species in 2001 as B. alba, but that in 2008 the new species was sunk into the older B. triebneri (Bothalia 38,1).
Of the over 70 species of Bulbine this is the only one with white flowers. It differs from its nearest relative, B. frutescens also by the soft, glaucous, more or less round leaves.
Plants are found in the Little Karoo and the southern Great Karoo, where it is locally abundant on shale ridges and scree. The species also occurs in the Eastern and Northern Cape and in southern Namibia.

In the Bothalia article it says: “The most interesting feature of this species is that the
flowers seemingly open only in the very late afternoon for two to three hours at most.”
In spite of this, the first of the pictures shown here was taken at 7.20 AM and the other three between 12.39 and 13.33 PM.

bulbtrie 0466

bulbtrie 0649

bulbtrie 2009-09-12#013

bulbtrie 2009-11-03#008

Glottiphyllum depressum (part 1 of 2)

In spite of its name, the leaves of this plant are not always lying flat on the ground. This does not come as a complete surprise in a species which is probably more  variable in its leaf characters than any other Glottiphyllum. This variability is reflected in the long list of synonyms. It seems likely that the very wide distribution of this species (compared to its siblings) is at least partly responsible for the wide range of characters.
In each pair, the leaves are slightly different in size (in the seedling state this difference does not exist); they may be up to 8.5 cm long and the tips often have a more or less distinct hook.
As in all other Glottiphyllums (apart from some albinos) the flowers are yellow; they appear in mid winter (July-August).
The plants occur from the southern Ceres Karoo through the Little Karoo to Humansdorp and are often the only Glottiphyllum in the area. They normally grow under shrubs in shaley sandstone or on loamy soils.

The first picture shows no less than 4 species apart from G. depressum:
Antegibbaeum fissoides, Adromischus fiicaulis ssp. marlothii, Crassula tecta and C. congesta ssp. laticephala.

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Stapelia grandiflora var. grandiflora

Because they may form large clumps to over a meter in diameter, plants of this species are often quite conspicuous in the field. They occur widespread in the Great Karoo and from Calitzdorp to the Eastern Cape and into the Free State, usually among bushes on lower stony slopes or under trees on flats.
The stems are up to 30 cm long. As the name implies, the flowers are often quite big too (mostly 8-15 cm, but sometimes up to 22 cm in diameter); they are usually silky hairy and appear mainly from March through May. The buds are rounded, which is typical for this variety (see last picture, showing a plant in cultivation).
The first 3 pictures were made near the Calitzdorp Dam, 6 April 2010.

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Antimima pygmaea (part 2 of 2)

It may be of interest to see what Prof. Schwantes in his magnum opus Flowering Stones and Mid-Day Flowers (1957) has to say about this “most remarkable and interesting species”: “This forms annually only two pairs of leaves to each growth which, however, are differently shaped. This phenomenon is called dimorphism of the leaf. The pair of leaves that appears at the beginning of the rainy season from out of the dry sheath is united into a long sheath at the base but developed normally above into widely separated, yawning, broad leaf tips. This pair of leaves with its comparatively broad surfaces that catch the light and absorb carbon dioxide as nourishment, provides food during the growth period. When the end of this period approaches there pushes out of the channel formed through the uniting of these normally developed leaves a peculiar, elongated, cylindrical structure which consists of two leaves joined right up to the tip. The very short ends are separated only by a slit, which shows that the growth actually consists of two thick leaves. Growths which consist of such closely united leaves are called plant bodies (corpusculum). The object of this close union can only be to reduce the evaporating surface as much as possible and to protect the young growth within from being dried up. The plant’s struggle to make the leaf pair as nearly spherical as possible is here obvious; as is known, the sphere is the form with the smallest surface area. Within these leaf pairs or plant bodies the next pair develops, which once more is less completely united. Inside the body a channel running its whole length remains open; the slowly developing leaf pair is fitted into this and draws from the plant body food and water until it has dried up to a parchment-like skin which completely surrounds the young pair so that not even the tip projects. In this condition the growth, well protected by the skin, lives through the dry period and when the rains begin the deeply buried pair of leaves quickly emerges from the skin surrounding it. In Ruschia pygmaea quite distinct leaf pairs are produced for the dry and for the rainy seasons, one of which has a large surface for assimilation, while the other serves for the protection of the resting pair.”

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23 June 2010

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1 Oct. 2006

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1 Oct. 2012

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29 Jan. 2012

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18 Feb. 2007

Antimima pygmaea (part 1 of 2)

There are not many plants that look better or more interesting in the resting state than during active growth, but this species is certainly one of them.
The plants form low, densely branched mats to 15 cm in diameter.
The leaf pairs are dimorphic.  One pair is almost fused almost completely, to 5 mm tall and 3 mm wide, developing into a conical body which turns into a dry sheath protecting the subsequent leaf pair during the dry period. These white bodies become slashed with time and are typical for the species.
The plants occur on shaly slopes in a smallish area between Worcester and Laingsburg.

Irrespective of the statement in the first sentence of this post, the plants are quite cute when in flower. The flowers are up to 18 mm across and appear in winter (July-August).

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antipygm 7759#2012-05-09

Huernia pillansii (part 1 of 2)

With its almost furry stems this species is easy to identify, even without flowers.
Only Stapelianthus pilosus from Madagascar is somewhat similar.
The stems are normally 1.5-6 cm long, but may reach as much as 18 cm; they usually have 10-16 spiral or vertical series of tubercles ending in long hairs. These hairs shade the stems and thereby reduce water loss.
The flowers have an unusual appearance too and appear in spring and summer (Dec.-May).
The plants are found sporadically on stony slopes and clayey flats from Montagu eastwards to Steytlerville in the Eastern Cape and in the Great Karoo from Matjiesfontein to Beaufort West. They occur mostly in the shade of low bushes.

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Euphorbia muricata

E. muricata belongs to a group of spineless, shrubby Euphorbias which are often difficult to tell apart. This species however, is distinctive because of the rough surface of the branches.
The plants  reach a height of up to 60 cm and occur from the Knersvlakte to Calvinia on gentle slopes and loamy flats.
Photos taken on the Knersvlakte 1 Sept. 2010.

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