Tag: Mesembs
Gibbaeum nebrownii (1)
It has taken me a couple of years to be at the right spot at the right time to photograph this species in flower. I knew of only one small locality, some 130 kms from where I lived and the few times I went there they were not in flower. Nowadays I live much nearer, but the main thing is that I found out that the plants flower a few months earlier than almost all other Gibbaeums (late April and early May). Anyway, yesterday I went there with two friends and lo and behold: there they were, in full bloom.
“The Gibbaeum Handbook” by G. C. Nel (1953), gives the following information:
The shale hillocks, on which it seems to thrive best, consist of laminated shales and are entirely devoid, at times, of any other vegetation. They are quite bare and G. nebrownii is embedded in the soil and only the top surface is exposed. During the hot summer months, it is withdrawn into the soil and one only sees a brown membrane, the remainder of the old leaves, and is, consequently, very difficult to find. It resembles a Lithops or an Ophthalmophyllum in this respect. It is squeezed into the crevices between the slate layers”.
The species is only found sporadically in the western part of the Little Karoo.
The first two pictures were taken 30 June 2013, the others 4 May 2014
Trichodiadema densum
It is easy to see why this species is so popular in cultivation. The plants are compact (the most compact of the whole genus) and have thick fleshy roots.
The diadems at the tips of the leaves are the largest of all Trichodiademas and the flowers (appearing in winter and spring: June- October) are 4-5 cm in diameter.
One can come across the plants from Uniondale to Willowmore and the southern Great Karoo, where they mainly grow in white quartz fields.
The last picture shows a plant in cultivation (scan from slide)
Delosperma echinatum (2)
I made these pictures a few days ago, as part of a presentation on plant photography I have to give at the end of the month.
Bergeranthus multiceps
The genus Bergeranthus occurs in the Eastern Cape between Utenhage and East London and northwards to Cradock. The plants form tuft and have a fleshy rootstock. Flowers open in the evening or late afternoon.
B. multiceps is common in open grassland between Joubertina and the Keiskamma River. Rainfall occurs here in all seasons.
Drosanthemum schoenlandianum
The home of this species is the Knersvlakte, where it forms shrubs up to 15 cm tall. The flowers appear in winter (June/July); they are up to 2.5 cm in diameter and white, cream- or lemon-coloured.
The last picture shows young seedlings in cultivation.
Conophytum minutum v. minutum (2)
Conophytum minutum v. minutum (1)
Plants of this variety occur widespread from Papendorp and Vanrhynsdorp in the south to Garies and Gamoep in the north and are also found at the coast, near the mouth of the Groenrivier. They grow on a variety of substrates, either in the open on in the shade of shrubby mesembs.
The flowers appear in autumn and range in colour from pale pink to reddish magenta and even (rarely) white.
All photos made on the same day (30 March 2012).
Polymita albiflora
The genus Polymita has only two members, both of which are slow growing shrubs up to 45 cm tall, starting out as small cushions. They occur on the eastern edge of the winter rainfall area in northern Namaqualand on gneiss hills and quartz flats or slopes.
P. albiflora occurs in the drier part of the distribution area: on average less than 100 mm rainfall per year. The species is characterized by the hard prickly mucro (leaf tip), which is absent in P. steenbokensis, and by the generally fewer number of petals (50-100 rather than 70-140). The literature only mentions white petals (as the name implies), but pink also occurs.
Unfortunately the plants rarely flower in cultivation.
Ruschia impressa
Some people seem think that the second part of this name means impressive, but in reality it means impressed. (Don’t ask me what it refers to!).
At first sight it just seems to be another one of those many small, nondescript shrubby Mesembs. Only when you take the time to look at it properly you will see how cute it really is. I quite agree with the remark in the Illustrated of Succulent Plants: “The compact shape suggests that the species has a potential as garden or rockery plants”.
The plants do not get any taller than 6 cm. Maybe the best way to recognize them is the fact that the keel of the leaves is adorned with a small (sometimes inconspicuous) tooth.
The species is endemic to the western part of the Little Karoo (Ladismith, Montagu).
