The flat-topped rosettes of this species appear in small clusters from a caudex 1,5-2 cm in diameter. The leaves are not more than 10-11 mm long. These miniatures occur from southern Namibia to Riversdale in southern South Africa, growing on rocky flats and slopes.
One flower head pretending to be three
More pictures to come.
Tuberous Othonnas are not very common in cultivation, mainly due I suppose because they are difficult to propagate. Taking cuttings is not really an option and seeds are hard to get and to germinate. It can hardly be caused by lack of appeal, as the following pictures will hopefully show you.
O. auriculifolia is quite widespread in nature, from the Bokkeveld Mountains to Uniondale on stony, clayey or sandy slopes and flats.
The flowerheads are about 2 cm across and appear from April to September. The ray florets are always bright yellow, but the central ones may also be a darker yellow or even a very dark, almost black, purple.
More pictures to follow.
Even if the name implies otherwise, this is far from the whitest Avonia, as many plants of this species look brownish, rather than bright white (see first picture).
Whatever the colouration, it is a nice little plant which does not get taller than about 4 cm. Sometimes a little caudex is visible (see bottom picture)
The species occurs in Namibia and northwestern South Africa.
Like its better known sibling D. elephantipes, this species is often difficult to find in the wild. This is not because the plants are small, but because they are usually hidden in rather dense vegetation. In the case of D. hemicrypta it is usually the bluish-green colour of the leaves that gives the plant away.
Hemicrypta refers to the half-underground caudex, which is taller than wide. The plants are found on dry stony slopes from the Richtersveld to the Little Karoo.
Pictures taken along the road from Calitzdorp to Matjiesvlei.
Nrs 3 and 4 show the same plant, growing on the roadside and therefore easily visible.
As these plants have big underground bodies formed by a combination of root and stem, they qualify as caudiciforms.
Photographed near Port Elizabeth, 25 October 2012
Near Ladismith, 19th November 2011
