When not in flower, this species is difficult to distinguish from related species like C. retrospiciens and C. speciosa.
The stems are 2-3.5 cm thick and up to 20 cm tall, forming cushions to 1.5 m in diameter. The inflorescences are terminal heads of about 30 to 40 flowers, each about 2.5 cm in diameter.
The species occurs from Karamoja in Uganda and adjacent areas in Kenya to as far east as Archers Post.
Pictures were made near South Horr, Kenya, late September 2015.
Of the small-flowered Hoodias this is by far the tallest, with plants growing into many-stemmed shrubs up to slightly over a meter tall and 0.5 m wide.
The stems have an unusual whitish, grey-green colour and their 20-22 obtuse angles are armed with exceptionally hard and sharp spines.
The upper parts of the stems produce large numbers of flowers 1-1.8 cm in diameter.
The species has an unusual distribution. It occurs in the winter rainfall area of
Namibia on stony hillsides east of Luederitz and along the lower reaches of the Orange River.
In South Africa it also occurs along the lower Orange River: the western part of the area here receives rainfall in winter, whereas in the eastern part the rain falls in summer.
These habitats are surprisingly arid and in general the plants grow in the open on either rocky slopes or stony, flat areas.
In my preceding post (https://enjoysucculents.wordpress.com/2015/11/01/conophytum-khamiesbergense/) I asked the readers’ opinion on the slide scans used there.
A big thank you to all who were kind enough to respond to that request (and I’m quite chuffed because all responses were positive). Being able to mix pictures that were taken digitally with ones that were scanned, gives me a lot more options for posts.
Today’s subject with its bizarre finger-and-thumb-like leaves is certainly one of the more peculiar succulents. One cannot help but feeling that some of this otherness is reflected in its taxonomic history:
The taxon* was described in 1789 as a Mesembryanthemum, in 1925 it was placed in a genus of its own (Dactylopsis) and in 1995 it was incorporated in Phyllobolus (only to be returned to Dactylopsis in 2006). In 2013 it was reinstated -together with many other species- as a member of Mesembryanthemum.
* Taxon is a term to refer to a taxonomic group or unit of any rank (a family, a variety or whatever -depending on the context).
The plants form clumps 10-20 cm tall and are heteromorphous (of variable shape): the first leaf of a growing period is long and the second short, giving the appearance of a “finger and thumb”.
They flower at the beginning of the resting period (November-December); the flowers stay open day and night for 3 weeks or even longer.
To see the plants in the wild, you have to go to the Vredendal/Vanrhynsdorp area of the Knersvlakte in Namaqualand, where they occur on shale covered with quartz pebbles.
In my preceding post (https://enjoysucculents.wordpress.com/2015/11/01/conophytum-khamiesbergense/) I asked the readers’ opinion on the slide scans used there.
A big thank you to all who were kind enough to respond to that request (and I’m quite chuffed because all responses were positive). Being able to mix pictures that were taken digitally with ones that were scanned, gives me a lot more options for posts.
Today’s subject with its bizarre finger-and-thumb-like leaves is certainly one of the more peculiar succulents. One cannot help but feeling that some of this otherness is reflected in its taxonomic history:
The taxon* was described in 1789 as a Mesembryanthemum, in 1925 it was placed in a genus of its own (Dactylopsis) and in 1995 it was incorporated in Phyllobolus (only to be returned to Dactylopsis in 2006). In 2013 it was reinstated -together with many other species- as a member of Mesembryanthemum.
* Taxon is a term to refer to a taxonomic group or unit of any rank (a family, a variety or whatever -depending on the context).
The plants form clumps 10-20 cm tall and are heteromorphous (of variable shape): the first leaf of a growing period is long and the second short, giving the appearance of a “finger and thumb”.
They flower at the beginning of the resting period (November-December); the flowers stay open day and night for 3 weeks or even longer.
To see the plants in the wild, you have to go to the Vredendal/Vanrhynsdorp area of the Knersvlakte in Namaqualand, where they occur on shale covered with quartz pebbles.
With the many warts and teeth on the ends of their leaves, these fascinating plants are always immediately recognizable. They are so unlike other Conophytums that originally they were placed in a genus of their own: Berrrisfordia.
They form tight mats or cushions, with leaves to 1.5 cm long.
The whitish-pink to mauve flowers appear in late winter or early spring; they open in the morning and are scented of raspberries.
The species only occurs on granite domes in the highest part of the Kamiesberg in Namaqualand.
The pictures below are recent scans of slides that I made several years ago. The scanner I used before refuses to work with my current PC, so I decided to buy a new one for converting old slides that still might be put to good use.
After working on a picture for a long time, it often becomes very difficult to keep looking at the results in an objective way.
Therefore I would like to call in your help by letting me know if you think the quality of these pictures is on a par with what you have come to expect in this blog OR is at least good enough for the purpose.
If yes, wonderful; if no, I will just have to further improve my scanning skills!
The first picture -taken in August- shows that not only human beings like these plants. After winter rainfall, they are a juicy bite for hungry animals (in this case probably a tortoise).
The next four pictures were taken in October and November, when progressing heat and drought start discolouring the plants.
After summer the plants may look quite miserable (as shown in the last picture, taken in April).
Both the genus name and the specific epithet are derived from the word gibba (hump, referring to the irregularly swollen leaves).
Plants of this species are sometimes locally abundant in the Western part of the Little Karoo and the Southwest corner of the Great Karoo (Ceres, Laingsburg, Montagu and Worcester), usually in pebbly shale or quartz patches.
They form more or less compact clumps up to 15 cm in diameter with a woody rootstock.
The pink to purple flowers are 2-3 cm in diameter and appear in early spring (August).
Here G. gibbosum is accompanied by Tanquana prismatica (on right)
The first three pictures are from in and around South Horr:
#1 one of the peculiar river beds in the village, just before sunrise
# 2 Adenium obesum bathing in early morning sunlight
# 3 at the end of a long day
The next one gives an impression of Mt. Kulal
The southeastern corner of Lake Turkana:
The last thre pictures are from the south of the country:
– Euphorbia classenii on the slopes of Mt. Kasigau
– Aloe ballyi in the Taita Hills
– Baobab (Adansonia digitata) near Mtito Andei
More pictures will find their way into upcoming posts!
Since the early seventies I paid several visits to Kenya. Most of the northern part was unfortunately always out of bounds or at least very unsafe to visit. Over the years, I came to the conclusion that this beautiful and interesting part of the country was something I would never see. More recently things have improved in the sense that the brigands who used to roam the countryside have been brought under control.
Two of the friends I made a trip to Somaliland in the beginning of this year with, had tentative plans to visit northern Kenya later in the year, and when they invited me to join them I was obviously very temped. At the same time I thought that at my age a trip like that would be too strenuous and difficult. When the invitation was repeated a few weeks ago, my dear wife convinced me that this was not only my first but probably also my last chance to see this wild and wonderful part of the world.
So, now I am about to leave for Cape Town, to catch a plane to Nairobi.
After my return I hope to share some stories and pictures with you.
