Aizoaceae (Mesembryanthemaceae) Archives - Page 16 of 22

Gibbaeum heathii (1)

This species is one of the most widely distributed in the genus (from north of Laingsburg to the Calitzdorp area) and seems to feel at home especially in quartz outcrops.
It is also one of the most variable ones. In some populations the plants form clumps 15-30 cm across, in others the clumps are small, with only a few bodies. The bodies may vary from about 8 mm to 6 cm in diameter and from a few millimeters to about 6 cm in height.
According to Nel’s The Gibbaeum Handbook, the colours run from: “uniformly whitish, white greyish, metal grey to pale glaucous green, green, sometimes tinted yellowish, purplish or sometimes quite reddish (this latter colour probably indication that clump is shrivelling off)”.
The flowers can be 10 to 30 mm across and are white, pink or purple.

All pictures in this post were taken in 2009
The first picture on 8 Febr.
The second one on 31 May
Nos. three and four on 9 Oct.

More pictures to come.

Tanquana hilmarii 2

All pictures made at Anysberg 21 April 2012.

Tanquana hilmarii (1)

These little gems occur on shale banks and slopes, where they are usually hard to detect. It is a harsh and arid habitat, which at first looks totally uninteresting. When you look carefully, you will however find out that these bare spots often harbour some astonishing miniature succulents like Conophytum joubertii, Gibbaeum nebrownii, G. dispar (see post 30 Jan. this year) and this Tanquana. The scarce rainfall here is often supplemented by early morning dew seeping into the fissures between the shale layers and providing just enough water for these dwarf plants. It is a hard life, especially for young seedlings (see first picture), but the advantage of a habitat like this is that there is no competition from bigger, faster growing -and more demanding- plants.
The pictures were taken near the eastern entrance to the Anysberg Nature Reserve (the first one on 21 April 2012, the other two on 27 Sept. 2010).

More pics to come.

Gibbaeum dispar

In cultivation this species is rather common, as it is one of the easier Gibbaeums to grow and flower (see picture at bottom).
In the wild it is only found on a few very dry shaly ridges near Vanwyksdorp. According to Nel’s Gibbaeum Handbook, it is the only Gibbaeum which does not grow together with any other species of the genus.
The plants look a bit like G. album, but they are darker and softer. The flowers appear in April.

Ruschia pungens

Shrubby Mesembs are often difficult to identify with the help of literature. Once a more knowledgeable person has given you the right name, it usually seems hard to believe that you didn’t get there under your own steam.
This species is a case in point. Especially older plants are easily recognized: robust shrubs of up to a meter tall with the old inflorescences remaining on them for several years. These remains are hard and spiny, giving rising to the specific epithet.
R. pungens is a widespread species, occuring from Montagu to the Eastern Cape.

Nelia pillansii

The genus Nelia contains only two species: N. pillansii and N. schlechteri. Its greatest claim to fame is the fact that the flowers after opening stay open continuously for up to three weeks. The plants occur on quartz fields near the coast in northern Namaqualand.

Gibbaeum nuciforme 2

Gibbaeum nuciforme (G. cryptopodium) 1

A widely distributed species (from Zebra, between George and Oudtshoorn, to the Montagu area), often locally abundant on loamy soils with quartz pebbles.
The very soft, almost translucent bodies lie flat on the ground (cryptopodium literally means “with hidden foot”) and in dry periods often almost disappear from sight. In the rainy season they are yellowish green, often turning red in the dry period. They are more or less round or egg-shaped (nuciforme = shaped like a nut).

To be continued.

Antimima pumila

Although this species sometimes occurs in big colonies, it is nevertheless rather rare, as a result of the limited distribution area (along the border of the winter rainfall area, more or less in the Ceres-Sutherland-Laingsburg triangle). With leaves about a centimeter long, it really lives up to its name (pumila = dwarf).

The difference in appearance between plants in the resting and the growing period is so great that Louisa Bolus described the species twice within two years (as Ruschia pumila and R. levynsiae).
The pictures shown here will hopefully give you a good idea how much the plants change in a couple of months.
The first picture was made at the end of April (= Autumn) and the last one mid November (end of Spring). The flowering plants were photographed end of July-beginning of August.

Drosanthemum hispidum

From late Winter to early Summer one can find this species in flower in southern Namibia and many parts of South Africa. It is an important pioneer on disturbed soil, e.g. roadsides, forming mats of up to a meter across. For that reason it is also a good ground cover in suitable climates.
The hairy stems make it usually easy to recognize this plant. The beautiful bladder cells on the leaves are best admired in back light.