Great Karoo Archives - Page 6 of 11

Monsonia (Sarcocaulon) crassicaulis, part 1

Together with M. salmoniflora this is the most common succulent Monsonia. The plants are widely distributed in the southwestern part of Namibia and the winter rainfall area of South Africa. They grow here mainly in winter from May to July and flower mostly from August to early November. The species also occurs in the summer rainfall regions of Bushmanland and the Great Karoo, where they are dormant from May to August and grow in spring and autumn. Not surprisingly one can also find them in the transitional zones between the summer and winter rainfall areas.

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To be continued.

Mesembryanthemum (Phyllobolus) resurgens 2

The fact that this species is a deciduous geophyte is reflected in the name, as one of the meanings of the word resurgens is: “Rising again, as from the dead”.
The plants are only up to 3 cm tall, with a thick caudex covered in cork, short stems and
leaves with large bladder cells.
In June-September they produce greenish yellow to pale salmon, distinctly scented flowers about 4 cm in diameter.
If you want to see the plants in nature, you have to go to the Northern or Western Cape Province, where they are widespread in the winter rainfall area from Namaqualand to Ceres and Laingsburg.

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Mesembryanthemum (Phyllobolus) resurgens 1

I first saw plants of this species in autumn (May 2006) and had no idea what they were. Some peculiar Mesem maybe? The first picture gives you an idea of what they looked like.

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It took me about half a year to return to the spot (a few km northwest of Matjiesfontein) to try and make some good pictures, but when I came there, the plants had disappeared. There were no signs of digging by man or beast and I was sure it was the right spot. So what had happened? After a while it started to dawn upon me that the only thing that was wrong was the time. Because summer was approaching, the plants had done their annual disappearing act and I would have to wait till autumn to see them again.
In March of the following year I found out that the species was rather common in the area and also that they sometimes were much more visible (see pictures below).

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To be continued.

Adromischus leucophyllus

With their leaves covered with a thick white bloom, these plants are both distinctive and beautiful. Sometimes the leaves have some darker spots.
The flowers are white or pale pink and appear in Jan.-Feb. (The flowering plants were photographed 9 February at Kanonkop in Montagu).
One can find the plants on sandstone slopes in the mountains between Robertson and Montagu and eastward to the Gamka Poort Dam.

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A giant dwarf (Haworthia pumila)

This name exemplifies one of the quirks of botanical nomenclature.
How can the biggest of the Haworthias (each rosette up to 25 cm tall and about 15 cm across) be called a dwarf? It only makes sense when you know that the plant was originally described as an Aloe, and as such it is a dwarf of course.
H. pumila is found from Worcester to Montagu (as far south as the northern foothills of the Riviersonderend Mountains) and in the southwest corner of the Great Karoo. Usually the plants consist of a single rosette, but over time they may (slowly) produce additional ones.
The first two pictures were taken just north of Matjiesfontein in late July, the third one south east of McGregor in the same period;
Pictures four and five are from the Aneysberg Nature Reserve (late September) and the last two show plants in the uncultivated part of the Montagu Nature Garden (same period).

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Astroloba foliolosa

When comparing this species to other Astrolobas, it is handy to known that foliolosus means “with many small leaves”. Normally the leaves are spreading almost horizontally, which is uncommon in the genus.
The species occupies a wide distribution area from Laingsburg in the west to Graaff-Reinet and Cradock in the east. It also occurs in the Little Karoo. Usually the plants are up to 20 cm tall, but they may reach 30 cm.

The pictures will hopefully give you a good idea of how different the plants look like in different situations.

Ruschia karrooica

Although the name suggests a wide distribution, this species seems to occur only in a small area in the southwest corner of the Great Karoo and the adjacent part of the Little Karoo.
The plants form small shrubs up to 30 cm tall and can be known most easily by the long leaf sheaths.

Aloinopsis loganii (2)

All pictures taken 12 August 2008, between 3.43 and 4.00 pm.

Aloinopsis loganii (1)

Succulent plants may store water in any organ of the plant body. Usually, leaves or stems are used for this purpose, but water can also be stored in the roots.
For this reason we speak of leaf, stem and root succulents. In certain plants the distinction is not so clear-cut, because they use more than one organ for water storage. The subject of this post is a case in point.
The first four pictures were made in winter and spring (between mid July and mid October) and clearly show that the species is a leaf succulent.
Or, so it would seem. The last two photos were made in summer (late January). In #5, most of the leaves have disappeared and the plant was only found because the fruits stand out against the background. In #6, the knife points at a plant at either side of it and here too, very little of the leaves is left.
This begs the question how these plants can survive the drought and heat of the remaining summer period. For the answer we have to go beneath the surface (literally). When we do that, we will find a nice fat tuberous rootstock with enough storage capacity for the plants to aestivate (spend the summer in a dormant state).
The species is only found in a small area near Laingsburg, where most of the rainfall occurs in winter.
To give you some idea of the size of the plants: the leaves are up to about 20 mm long, 8 mm wide and 4-4.5 mm thick.

Haworthia arachnoidea var. scabrispina

In their most typical form, these plants are easy to identify, because of the more or less rounded, rather than flat rosettes (see first two pictures).
When they don’t have this give-away shape, one has to have a closer look at the leaves and spines, which are firm and stiff.
Locality is also important, as they only occur in the southwestern corner of the great Karoo and the adjacent part of the Little Karoo.