Little Karoo Archives - Page 3 of 16

Gibbaeum angulipes

Although locally abundant, this species is known only from a few sites in the Riversdale area, on N-facing slopes in bare loamy places with a sprinkling of quartz pebbles.

The plants form huge mats (up to 2 m in diameter) of erect leaves. These are about 2.5 cm long, slightly keeled, silvery or greyish (sometimes green) and somewhat velvety.
The flowers are purple-pink, about 2.5 cm in diameter, appearing in October-December.

The first 2 pictures were taken early November 2009, the other ones mid September 2011.

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.

Gibbaeum album (Volstruistone)

Because of the peculiar oblique shape and white colour of its leaves this is a very distinct and therefore easy to recognise species. It only occurs in a few sites in a small area in S.W. Little Karoo, among quartz pebbles on shale in the Northern foothills of the Langeberg.

The leaves are dissimilar and form an obliquely ovoid body 2-3 cm long, densely covered with short fine white hairs (album=white); bodies solitary or forming compact clusters.
The flowers are white or pink, to 3 cm in diameter; they appear in November-December.

The last picture also shows Gibbaeum (Muiria) hortenseae.

Drosanthemum delicatulum

It would be difficult to come up with a more apt name for this plant, which grows into a shrublet up to about 20 cm tall and to 25 cm in diameter with small leaves (2-4 mm long and 2-2.5 mm thick) covered in globose papillae (longer at the base).
The white or pale pink flowers are only 8-10 mm in diameter, without or with very short stalks, and are present in October-November.

Growing on sand and shale slopes -with or without quartz- in the Montagu, Ladismith, Swellendam area.

Glottiphyllum regium (part 1 of 2)

This is the largest species of the genus (regium = royal), forming robust compact clumps up to 15 cm across.
The leaves are decussate (arranged in a cross), longer than 6.5 cm (up to 13 cm) and 2 cm wide, three-angled in cross-section to more or less cylindrical. They have a sharp upright point and are slightly unequal, narrowed below and ranging in colour from bright green and grey-green to ochre.
The flowers have long stalks (longer than 3 cm), are up to 3.5 cm across and appear from June to December. After flowering, the fruits remain on the plants.

Although the species is locally abundant, it only occurs in a handful of sites near Calitzdorp, on sandstone slopes and sandy-loamy soils. It is therefore categorized as endangered.

In G. surrectum the leaves are similar in shape, but shorter than 6 cm.
G. cruciatum is similar in general appearance, but has leaves with an expanded base.

Gibbaeum pilosulum

Although in several species of Gibbaeums the leaves have a velvety cover, G. pilosulum is the only one with long, erect hairs. Apart from this, the species is very similar to G. nuciforme, which sometimes grows less than a kilometre away.

The plants form compact mats to 13 cm in diameter, embedded in the ground. There are up to 10 leaf pairs, which are united and form egg-shaped, green to yellowish green bodies 0.5- 2 cm across with a short fissure at the tip.
The flowers are 1.2 – 1.6 cm in diameter and bright pink to purple; they appear in July-August.

Found in the western Little Karoo (Ladismith-Barrydale area), usually in quartz patches together with G. heathii.

Delosperma peersii

Plants of this species form small shrubs up to 50 cm tall with bright green leaves which are triangular in cross section and about 1.5 cm long, spreading with a reddish, recurved tip.
The flowers are 1.5-2 cm in diameter, white to pink, often with 3 together; they appear from spring to summer.

The species does not occur in many places, but is sometimes abundant in loamy soils from just west of Oudtshoorn to Willowmore.
The last picture was taken on the back road from Montagu and Anysberg. It seems to me that the plants in this population have all the typical characteristics of D. peersii, so the species may be more widely distributed than is recorded.

Tylecodon leucothrix

The epithet leucothrix means “with white hairs” and refers to the conspicuous glandular hairs on the leaves which make the species easily recognisable.
It is a small, sparsely branched shrub, usually no more than 5-8 cm tall, with a main stem that is 1.5-6.5 cm thick (normally partly underground), with peeling bark.
The leaves are arranged at the stem tips; they are narrow, 1-7.5 cm long and 0.2-1.5 cm wide, the upper surface grooved. They are dry at flowering time.
The inflorescence is up to 35 cm long and bears 0.6-1 cm long tubular flowers (yellowish-green to pale yellow with pink to almost white lobes) in October to February.

One usually comes across the species under bushes on south-facing (shaded) rocky slopes throughout the Little Karoo.

Haworthia mucronata var. mucronata

H. mucronata is a very variable species, often even at varietal level. One of the few constant characters is the fact that the leaves are soft , incurved and slightly pellucid, with translucent margins and keel.
Var. mucronata occurs from the Barrydale area to north of Oudtshoorn.
All pictures were taken at the same spot within Barrydale itself: the first five on 8 Aug. 2017 (late winter/early spring), the last two on 28 Jan. 2016 (midsummer).

Huernia guttata subsp. guttata

In this subspecies the stems have 4 or 5 angles; they are 2 to 10 cm long and 1-1.5 cm thick, grey-green, sometimes with faint purple-red spots.
The striking flowers are 2-7.5 cm in diameter and appear in November-April.
Plants are found from Somerset East to near Willowmore, between Uniondale and Joubertina and also between Oudtshoorn and Calitzdorp, under bushes on stony slopes.
The pictures shown here were all taken in the latter area and represent the former subsp. calitzdorpensis (the plant in the third picture was growing next to the road, hence the specks of dust).