Mesembs Archives - Page 12 of 21

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.

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.

Mesembryanthemum (Phyllobolus) canaliculatum

These plants are geophytes with tuberous roots; they occur from the Cape Peninsula eastward to Port Elizabeth, growing in coastal dunes.
As a special adaptations to their sandy habitat, they have long creeping branches rooting at the nodes.
The Aizoaceae family does not have not many members that are either geophytic or adapted to a habitat of shifting sands, but this species somehow manages to belong to both categories.
One can find the plants in flower from spring to mid-summer. The flowers are 2-3 cm in diameter and yellow, mauve or salmon in colour, sometimes with a red hue.
The leaves are almost cylindrical or channeled (=canaliculatus).

Photographed near Jeffrey’s Bay 25 Oct. 2012.

Lampranthus haworthii (2)

Lampranthus haworthii (1)

With its large shiny flowers, it is small wonder that this species is often seen in South African gardens.
The plants form robust dense woody shrubs up to 60-70 cm and sometimes even taller. They have light grey-green, more or less cylindrical leaves, 2-4 cm long. The purplish tips of the leaves are quite characteristic.
The flowers are white or pink to light purple with a white base and are up to 8 cm in diameter. They appear in Spring (June – early October).
The species occurs often in considerable numbers throughout the Little Karoo and northwestward to Clanwilliam.

Conophytum comptonii

In an earlier post I discussed Anacampseros comptonii, growing next to this Conophytum. For more information on the habitat please follow the link.

The photos were taken at Oorlogskloof , 4 April 2012.

Meyerophytum meyeri

These peculiar plants produce leaves of two kinds: the first pairs of the season are egg shaped, forming a bilobed body; the second ones are much longer than wide, with the leaves free for about two thirds of their length.
The plants are cushion-shaped and up to about 30 cm in diameter. They are found from the Richtersveld to southern Namaqualand, in loamy soil, often with quartz pebbles.
The flowers appear in winter and are either dark pink throughout, or rose with a white base, or white (turning pink with age).

The first two pictures were taken 6 Sept. 2010 (look at the Crassula elegans and Conophytum saxetanum keeping the first plant company)

The flowering plants were photographed 11 July 2011

Mesembryanthemum (Psilocaulon) junceum

Almost all Mesembs are leaf succulents, but this species is an exception.
On young stems, leaves are present for a short period, but they fall off as soon as the dry period sets in. The leaves are small but at the same time quite succulent. One would think it to be wasteful to invest a lot of energy in producing something that is used for only a short while. Nevertheless it seems to be a successful strategy, as the species is widespread and often locally abundant. They act as pioneers on disturbed loamy soils and that probably explains how they can afford to be wasteful with their resources. The disturbance will in most cases aerate the soil and make nutrients available, so that for some time food is present in abundance.
The plants may be up to 60 cm tall and occur from Namaqualand to the Eastern Cape.
The flowers are white, pink or purple, up to 1.5 cm across and appear in spring (September- November).