succulents Archives - Page 24 of 60

Pachypodium rutenbergianum (part 1 of 2)

As a young plant, this species looks rather uninteresting, but that changes dramatically over time. Unfortunately not many readers will have the time and the space needed to grow a specimen to perfection, but in north and west Madagascar, where it is endemic, it is often grown as an ornamental tree (see first picture). It is also a characteristic component of deciduous forests and palm savannas.
These pachycaul trees may become 3-6 m tall, with a swollen stem-base 50-70 cm in diameter and deciduous leaves 16 cm long and 4.5 cm wide.
The inflorescences appear at the branch tips and bear numerous white flowers with
lobes 2-4 cm long and about 2 cm wide.

Aloe gariepensis

Both the scientific and the vernacular name (Orange River Aloe) refer to its occurrence along the Orange River (from Grootderm in the west to Keimoes in the east). It is also plentiful in the Warmbad area of Namibia. The plants are usually found in steep rocky places and are rather variable, depending on the locality.

Usually solitary, the plants are stemless or short-stemmed (up to 1 m tall).
The leaves are 30-40 cm long and 5-8 cm wide near the base, incurved, dull yellowish-green to reddish-brown with numerous longitudinal lines. In young plants they are
copiously spotted on both surfaces, later on they only have some spots on the upper surface. The margins have small, sharp teeth, but otherwise the leaves are unarmed.
The unbranched inflorescences are up to 1.2 m tall and bear flowers from July to September. These are usually yellow to greenish yellow, but in the eastern part of the distribution area sometimes reddish.

Cleretum (Dorotheanthus) bellidiforme

In many parts of the world this extremely variable annual is a popular garden plant.
The plants are low-growing, usually less than 10 cm tall, with narrow, spatula-shaped leaves.
In nature the beautiful flowers appear in August-September, usually in shades of white, pink, reddish-purple or red, but sometimes also in yellow or orange. They are 2-4 cm in diameter.
This species is widespread in disturbed sandy soils in the winter rainfall area of South Africa from Namaqualand to Riversdale.

Cleretum papulosum

Not long ago the genus Cleretum had only three members. Because there are no clear characteristics for separating Cleretum and Dorotheanthus, in 2012 it was decided to combine the two genera. This means that the species in Dorotheanthus have been transferred to Cleretum, which as a result of this now contains 14 species.

C. papulosum is a trailing annual with strap- to racket-shaped leaves to 3 cm long.
The small yellow flowers appear from July to October.
The plants are widespread from Namaqualand and Bushmanland to Mossel Bay; they are
often locally abundant on sandy/loamy soils, especially in disturbed spots.

Mesembryanthemum (Sceletium) tortuosum (part 1 of 2)

It’s a bit of a pity that the former genus name has been dropped, as it aptly suggested the way in which the persistent old, dry leaves form a sceleton protecting the new leaves.
The creeping or scrambling plants have imbricate leaves (overlapping like the tiles of a roof); which are to 4 cm long and 2 cm wide, with the tips turned inwards.
The flowers are white to pale yellow, pale salmon or pale pink, about 2-3 cm in diameter; they have a short stalk and appear in July-October.
It is a widespread species, occurring under bushes or in the open from Namaqualand to Montagu and Aberdeen in both winter and summer rainfall areas; often on quartz.

As in other members of the genus, the plants contain the alkaloid mesembrymine and have medicinal properties. The fermented leaves are widely used as a sedative and to relieve pain such as toothache and stomach ache. The concoction can also cause drunkenness.

Mesembryanthemum aitonis

Like so many other members of the genus, this species is a pioneer and therefore usually found in disturbed places.
The plants occur in the southern and eastern cape region, in both summer and winter rainfall areas.
They are creeping or upwards growing annuals or biennials, depending on the water supply. The stems are round or -as the pictures show- somewhat angular; they have flat and more or less spatula-shaped leaves which are very variable in size, to 5 cm long and 1.5 cm wide.
The flowers are 0.5-2 cm in diameter, white, sometimes with a pinkish tint; they appear from September to January.

Trichodiadema peersii

According to the literature, this is a more or less erect shrub up to 9 cm tall.
The leaves are 5-8 mm long and 4 mm wide and thick, tipped with a diadem consisting of 4-9 bristles*.
The white flowers are about 3.8 cm wide and appear in spring and summer: Sept.-Dec.; they produce fruits with 5 or 6 compartments.
The plants occur in the Willowmore district.

* In some of the plants shown here, the diadems have many more bristles. Because all other characteristics agree, I take it all pictures represent the same species.

Cotyledon papillaris

Although this is a very variable species with several synoniems, it is nevertheless easy to identify.
The plants are low, spreading shrublets with branches to 25 cm long, often rooting at nodes and bearing leaves 15-60 mm long and 4-13 mm wide, yellowish-green to glaucous*, usually with a red tip or margin.
The flowers vary in colour from yellowish and orange to darkish pink and deep red, with a tube 5-8 mm long and lobes 10-15 mm long. They appear mainly in October-February, but also after rain at other times.

Usually the plants occur on stony slopes and flats; they are often abundant in the shade of small bushes. They are widespread from southwestern Namibia to the Little Karoo and extending into the Eastern Cape.

*glaucous: covered with a thin greyish-white to bluish-green layer of wax.

Pachypodium brevicaule (part 1 of 3)

For a little prologue to this post, see the preceding one: Kalanchoe integrifolia).

Although Mt. Ibity is perhaps the most accessible place, P. brevicaule also occurs in a couple of other habitats in Madagascars central highlands.
Plants can be found from Ambositra to Antananarivo in quartz rock at altitudes between 1400 and 1600 m.
In some spots where P. brevicaule grows together with P. densiflorum or P. rosulatum, one can come across hybrids. Judging from the long flower stalks, I suppose the plants shown in pictures # 3 and 4 belong to either of these hybrids.
The first two pictures show views from where P. brevicaule grows on Mt. Ibity. On # 2 you can see the quarry belonging to the massive cement factory nearby.

Kalanchoe integrifolia

When at the end of my recent trip to Madagascar we had some time left, we decided to go to Antsirabe to visit Mt. Ibity. I had been there 19 years ago to see the famous Pachypodium brevicaule in its habitat and this seemed a good opportunity to renew the acquaintance.
As the area is protected nowadays, it took us a while to find a guide and get the necessary permissions, but in the end we were able to start the ascend.
Just before we arrived at the level were we could expect the Pachypodiums, I noticed a little succulent in a rock crevice. My first thought was: “An Adromischus?”. Well, probably not, as that genus is not known to occur in Madagascar. A bit further up we came across a mature specimen and one look at the flowers confirmed that it was a Kalanchoe. But which one? Fortunately there is a book on the Kalanchoes of Madagascar and that quickly answered the question. (When I looked through slides of my first visit to the country, I found one of the same species photographed further south at a place 15 km West of Ivato; see first picture)

Kalanchoe integrifolia is a polymorphous species which is slow growing and may become very old. It may reach a height of up to 1 m.
The leaves show a great variation in appearance depending on the age of the plants. They are 3-11 cm long and 0.8-2.5 cm wide, egg-shaped in young plants and becoming almost cylindrical as the plants get older.
The flowers may be white, yellowish, pink or dull reddish and are slightly pubescent.
The species occurs in the Antsirabe-Ambositra area on quartz, gneiss and basalt rocks at an altitude of 1200- 2000m. It is rare and probably endangered by environmental
changes.