Namibia Archives - Page 2 of 4

Tylecodon paniculatus (part 1 of 3)

With a height of up to 2.5 m, this is the biggest of the Tylecodons. It is also the most widespread, from the Auas Mts. in central Namibia to Worcester and Steytlerville in the south and southeast. The species seems to prefer stony slopes, but in South Africa it is also found on sand along the western and southern coastline.

The plants have fat yellowish stems (up to 0.6 m in diameter and usually undivided), with peeling bark.
The branches are over 2 cm thick and bear leaves 5-12 cm long and 2-10 cm wide which are usually finely hairy in young plants and hairless in older ones.
The flowers appear in October -January, by which time the plants have shed their leaves. The corolla tubes are 1.2-1.6 cm long, yellowish to red, whereas the lobes are orange and 1-1.3 cm long. The flowers are pollinated mainly by sunbirds.
Because the plants tends to grow in groups, they often make wonderful displays when flowering.

On left T. wallichii

Monsonia (Sarcocaulon) patersonii

With its thick, often nearly golden yellow stems, heavy armature and beautiful flowers, this species stands out even within a group of plants as special as the Sarcocaulons.

The plants occur in the coastal desert from Luederitz in southern Namibia to the Holgat River in South Africa and also in the area between Bethanie and Klein Karas in Namibia. In some regions of stabilised coarse sand they are very common with sometimes few or no other plants around. In some areas they are also found in rock crevices.
Their habit is creeping to more or less upright, up to 50 cm tall. Although they are potentially very spiny plants, the spines are often continually abrased by wind-blown sand.
When flowering (mainly May-September) the plants are even more attractive than usual, with their pink, magenta or purple flowers of about 3 cm in diameter.

Aloe gariepensis

Both the scientific and the vernacular name (Orange River Aloe) refer to its occurrence along the Orange River (from Grootderm in the west to Keimoes in the east). It is also plentiful in the Warmbad area of Namibia. The plants are usually found in steep rocky places and are rather variable, depending on the locality.

Usually solitary, the plants are stemless or short-stemmed (up to 1 m tall).
The leaves are 30-40 cm long and 5-8 cm wide near the base, incurved, dull yellowish-green to reddish-brown with numerous longitudinal lines. In young plants they are
copiously spotted on both surfaces, later on they only have some spots on the upper surface. The margins have small, sharp teeth, but otherwise the leaves are unarmed.
The unbranched inflorescences are up to 1.2 m tall and bear flowers from July to September. These are usually yellow to greenish yellow, but in the eastern part of the distribution area sometimes reddish.

Cotyledon papillaris

Although this is a very variable species with several synoniems, it is nevertheless easy to identify.
The plants are low, spreading shrublets with branches to 25 cm long, often rooting at nodes and bearing leaves 15-60 mm long and 4-13 mm wide, yellowish-green to glaucous*, usually with a red tip or margin.
The flowers vary in colour from yellowish and orange to darkish pink and deep red, with a tube 5-8 mm long and lobes 10-15 mm long. They appear mainly in October-February, but also after rain at other times.

Usually the plants occur on stony slopes and flats; they are often abundant in the shade of small bushes. They are widespread from southwestern Namibia to the Little Karoo and extending into the Eastern Cape.

*glaucous: covered with a thin greyish-white to bluish-green layer of wax.

Othonna protecta

As the name implies, this species is often hiding under other plants or between rocks. For that reason, it is not easy to make good pictures of it. The photographer usually must choose between showing either what the plant looks like or how well it is hidden.

The plants are shrublets with fat (pachycaul) barrel-or flask-shaped stems and thin branches up to 30 cm long. They have soft leaves, which are mainly crowded at the branch tips and are long and narrow: 40-100 mm long and 2-3 mm wide.
The flowers appear from April to October.
One can come across these plant from central Namibia to the Little Karoo on gravelly flats and slopes.

Crassula nemorosa (part 1 of 2)

These charming little plants have erect or sprawling stems , 4-10 (-15) cm long.
They are geophytes, with many small tubers (rarely over 0.5 cm in diameter).
The slightly fleshy leaves are grey-green or greyish brown and the star- to cup-shaped flowers are pale yellowish-green to brown with 2-3.5 mm long lobes.
While the flowers usually appear between June and August, depending on rainfall this may also happen at other times.
The distribution area ranges from South Namibia to the Little Karoo and the Eastern Cape, but the plants only occur in sheltered spots on rocky slopes and in crevices.

Tylecodon pearsonii

Attractive dwarf shrublets up to 15 cm tall with a caudiciform base up to 3.5 cm in diameter.
Branches are short and fat, with peeling yellow-brown bark; covered with flat white phyllopodia (leaf-bases) when young. The leaves are usually up to 4 cm long and 5-7 mm wide.
The flowers are tubular, erectly spreading to pendulous and relatively large (up to 1.8 cm long). They appear in November and December.

This species is widely distributed from southwest Namibia to the Knersvlakte, on flats and stony slopes, often with quartz rocks or pebbles.
Rainfall in the area is 100-200 mm per year, mainly in winter. The temperatures are high in summer and moderate in winter, sometimes with light frost.

Crassula corallina (part 2: subsp. macrorrhiza)

Compared to ssp. corallina, these plants look more sturdy, with leaves 4-5 mm long and wide. The leaves are also much whiter.
Another difference is that they have a tuberous main root up to 1.2 cm wide (macrorrhiza= with a big root).
This subspecies has a generally more northern distribution, from the Grunau-Warmbad area in Namibia to adjacent parts in South Africa, from Vioolsdrift to Kenhardt, usually on coarse sandy flats.
The flowers appear from October to January.

Crassula corallina (part 1: subsp. corallina)

Plants of this subspecies are usually rather short-lived; they occur from southwestern Namibia southwards to Laingsburg and south-eastwards to Queenstown .
The branches are usually lying on the ground and rooting at the nodes.
The leaves are 3-5 mm long and 2-3 mm wide.
In December to April the plants are decorated with cream flowers.

Euphorbia dregeana

As the first picture shows, these up to 2m tall, dense clumps are very conspicuous in the field.
The branches are yellowish-green to grey-green, usually up to 3 cm thick at the base and 1.2 cm in diameter above, with leaves that soon disappear.
Between July to September one can find the plants in flower.

The plants occur mainly in flat open gravelly or sandy plains, sometimes on low stony slopes. They are widely distributed from the Haalenberg east of Luederitz in Namibia to Kamieskroon in Namaqualand and Namies in Bushmanland.