Tag: Anacampserotaceae

Anacampseros lanceolata

Common names: boesmansuring, hasiekos.

This clump-forming species is similar to A. telephiastrum, but up to 10 cm tall and thereby the largest member of the genus.
Its leaves are lance-shaped*, to 4 cm long and to 2 cm wide ( wider than thick), rounded below but almost flat above and ending in a minute spiny tip; they are blue-green at the beginning of the growing season, but become wrinkled and brown at flowering time. The white hairs in the leaf axils are often longer than the leaves.
The inflorescence is up to 25 cm tall, with 1 – 4 pink or white flowers, which are  to 3 cm in diameter; the petals are almost as wide as long, with a pointed tip. Flowering time is October to December.

The plants are found on rocky flats or slopes from the Richtersveld  to the western Karoo, Little Karoo and Langkloof.    Anacampserotaceae

* a shape which is broadest at about a third from the base and gradually gets narrower till it ends in an acute tip.

 

Anacampseros telephiastrum (Gemsboksuring)

This could well be the most common Anacampseros, both in the wild and in cultivation. In nature it occurs wide-spread from the Worcester to the Grahamstown area on rocky flats and slopes.
It is a robust species compared to its siblings, forming clumps up to 5 cm tall from a thick, fleshy root-stock.

The leaves are to 3 x 1.8 cm, arranged in rather lax rosettes. They are triangular in cross-section and range from egg-shaped to almost circular when seen from above, with an acute tip and short hairs (shorter than the leaves) at the base.
The relatively stout inflorescence is 5 – 15 cm tall, with 1 – 4 flowers.

After good rains the plants will resemble the one in the first picture.  

Under more stressful conditions the plants turn yellowish/brownish/reddish, so that they are often difficult to find (especially when they grow in crevices like the next three ones).

The dark pink flowers are 3 – 3.5 cm in diameter and open for 1.5 – 3 hours in the late afternoon and only when the sun shines. In dull weather they stay closed and pollinate themselves. Most flowers appear in November-December.

The basket-like fruits have a charm all of their own.sized_anactele2011_11_30#003_lzn