South African succulents Archives - Page 15 of 47

Crassula rupestris ssp. rupestris (part 1 of 2)

Rupestris means growing on rocks, a very apt name for a species which is often common on dry stony slopes.
The plants occur widespread from near Vanrhynsdorp to the Cape Peninsula and the Eastern Cape. They form shrublets to 60 cm tall, usually with many, somewhat brittle stems.
The branches are erect or spreading, sometimes creeping, with egg- to lance- shaped leaves often with a waxy bloom. There is a great variability in the colour, size and shape of the leaves and also in the degree to which they are fused at the base.
The flowers appear over quite a long period: June-October.

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.

Cleretum (Dorotheanthus) bellidiforme

In many parts of the world this extremely variable annual is a popular garden plant.
The plants are low-growing, usually less than 10 cm tall, with narrow, spatula-shaped leaves.
In nature the beautiful flowers appear in August-September, usually in shades of white, pink, reddish-purple or red, but sometimes also in yellow or orange. They are 2-4 cm in diameter.
This species is widespread in disturbed sandy soils in the winter rainfall area of South Africa from Namaqualand to Riversdale.

Cleretum papulosum

Not long ago the genus Cleretum had only three members. Because there are no clear characteristics for separating Cleretum and Dorotheanthus, in 2012 it was decided to combine the two genera. This means that the species in Dorotheanthus have been transferred to Cleretum, which as a result of this now contains 14 species.

C. papulosum is a trailing annual with strap- to racket-shaped leaves to 3 cm long.
The small yellow flowers appear from July to October.
The plants are widespread from Namaqualand and Bushmanland to Mossel Bay; they are
often locally abundant on sandy/loamy soils, especially in disturbed spots.

Mesembryanthemum (Sceletium) tortuosum (part 1 of 2)

It’s a bit of a pity that the former genus name has been dropped, as it aptly suggested the way in which the persistent old, dry leaves form a sceleton protecting the new leaves.
The creeping or scrambling plants have imbricate leaves (overlapping like the tiles of a roof); which are to 4 cm long and 2 cm wide, with the tips turned inwards.
The flowers are white to pale yellow, pale salmon or pale pink, about 2-3 cm in diameter; they have a short stalk and appear in July-October.
It is a widespread species, occurring under bushes or in the open from Namaqualand to Montagu and Aberdeen in both winter and summer rainfall areas; often on quartz.

As in other members of the genus, the plants contain the alkaloid mesembrymine and have medicinal properties. The fermented leaves are widely used as a sedative and to relieve pain such as toothache and stomach ache. The concoction can also cause drunkenness.

Mesembryanthemum aitonis

Like so many other members of the genus, this species is a pioneer and therefore usually found in disturbed places.
The plants occur in the southern and eastern cape region, in both summer and winter rainfall areas.
They are creeping or upwards growing annuals or biennials, depending on the water supply. The stems are round or -as the pictures show- somewhat angular; they have flat and more or less spatula-shaped leaves which are very variable in size, to 5 cm long and 1.5 cm wide.
The flowers are 0.5-2 cm in diameter, white, sometimes with a pinkish tint; they appear from September to January.

Trichodiadema peersii

According to the literature, this is a more or less erect shrub up to 9 cm tall.
The leaves are 5-8 mm long and 4 mm wide and thick, tipped with a diadem consisting of 4-9 bristles*.
The white flowers are about 3.8 cm wide and appear in spring and summer: Sept.-Dec.; they produce fruits with 5 or 6 compartments.
The plants occur in the Willowmore district.

* In some of the plants shown here, the diadems have many more bristles. Because all other characteristics agree, I take it all pictures represent the same species.

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.