South African succulents Archives - Page 6 of 47

Pelargonium abrotanifolium (Klipmalva)

Both the appearance of the plant and the scent of the leaves remind one of southernwood (Artemisia abrotanum), hence the species name.
The species occurs widespread from Namaqualand to the Eastern Cape and the Free State, often on rocky outcrops.
Although the plants are usually smaller, they may reach a height of about a meter.
The branches are slender and woody, with softly hairy leaves that are pleasantly aromatic when crushed.
The flowering stems bear 1-5 flowers about 2 cm in diameter with white, pink or mauve petals decorated with red or purple veins. Flowers may appear almost throughout the year (especially after rain).

Pelargonium rapaceum (Bergaartappel, Bergpatat, Norretjie)

Occurring from the northern Richtersveld to the Eastern Cape Province, this is one of the most common of the tuberous Pelargoniums and also the one with the widest distribution. It is found in a wide range of habitats, from stony slopes and flats to farmland that has been left fallow; it can even quickly colonize disturbed areas.

The tubers are often partly exposed and usually turnip-shaped (= rapaceum); usually there is only a single tuber, but sometimes a string of additional tubers is formed so that the plants can become quite large.
The softly hairy leaves are up to 40 cm long and 4.5 cm wide.
In October – February the plants produce branching peduncles with up to 50 flowers which are about 2.5 cm in diameter, white, cream, yellow or pink and most unusual in resembling little pea-flowers.

BOOK REVIEW: Secrets of Namaqualand Succulents by Florent Grenier

Normally when reviewing a book, one tends to compare it to others on the same subject, but in this case, there literally is no comparison. It may be of interest to know that the book came to life thanks to nearly 700 pre-orders.

The following will hopefully give you some idea of the scope of this book, which is arranged in five parts.
The first chapter, Diversity, describes what the Namaqualand plants have to offer to our five sense-organs.
The second chapter, Species, shows a large selection of Namaqualand succulents and geophytes.
In the third one, Habitats, the main regions of Namaqualand as well as 3 neighboring regions ( Cederberg, Bokkeveld and Bushmanland) are described.
Survival looks into some of the strategies that enable succulents to survive in Namaqualands harsh environment and the last chapter goes into the astonishing methods of plant reproduction, in particular, those relating to insect pollination.

Over 1100 beautiful photographs support the text. I would have loved to see the pictures printed on better paper, but that is a minor drawback compared to the wealth of information and inspiration the book has to offer.
All in all, with its combination of habitat photography and popular science, this is a unique publication that will almost certainly delight anybody interested in succulents as well as those passionate about nature and arid regions.
And last but not least: it is just a great pleasure to come across a book by someone who is not only really interested in his subject but also able to get that enthusiasm across.

The book contains 350 pages and is hardbound. The price is 39 €, but buyers in SA pay a special price of R590 (about 35 €).
To order:
write to longitude110@gmail.com and you will receive the details for an EFT payment. Otherwise, books can also be picked up in Stellenbosch (Dorp Street) and Cape Town (Newlands) upon prior notification. Books will also be stored at Kirstenbosch, at the Rooiklip nursery (Swellendam), NamaquaLodge (Vanrhynsdorp), Bagdad Café (Vanrhynsdorp-Nieuwoudtville road), Kamieskroon (cell phone details given by email), Springbok lodge (Springbok) and at Nigramoep slow living Guestfarm (NW of Springbok).
Special editions (signed copy for 49 € and collector’s edition for 89 €) can be ordered from the website www.namaqualand-succulents.com.

Senecio aloides (Grootdikblaar)

One can only wonder why De Candolle, who described this species in 1838, gave it this name, bearing in mind that aloides means “aloe-like”.
The plants form straggly shrubs of up to 70 cm tall, with few branches which are bright purple when young, becoming greyish brown with age. The cylindrical leaves are 3-7 cm long and 0.2-0.5 cm thick.

The species occurs on rocks and dunes near the coast from southern Namibia to the Cape Peninsula, where in July-October the plants are decorated with fragrant yellow flowerheads .

Curio sulcicalyx

This interesting little plant from southern Namibia and Namaqualand (as far south as Bitterfontein), comes under a variety of names: Senecio sulcicalyx, S. klinghardtianus, S. iosensis, Othonna/Senecio/Kleinia pusilla (pusillus).
It has a preference for rock crevices.

A great part of the plant is underground with rhizomes and tuberous roots.
The branches are up to 5 cm long. The leaves are 1 -2.5 cm long and 0.7-1.2 cm wide, sometimes shortly hairy.
Although the flower heads are usually white to mauve, in certain forms they are yellow; they appear from February to July.

Aloe arenicola (bont-ot’korrie, sand aloe, sand aalwyn)

This species only occurs on the very dry sandy* coastal plain on the west coast of South Africa, from the mouth of the Orange river in the north to Lambert’s Bay in the south.
Most of the moisture in this narrow strip is provided by mist from the Atlantic. As a result of mining activities and overgrazing, the species is considered to be vulnerable.

The plants form dense groups 15-40 cm tall. These consist of numerous creeping stems up to 1 m long of which only the leafy upper 20-30 cm are erect. The leaves are up to 20 cm long.
Flowering takes place from July in the north to January in the south.

Juvenile plants differ greatly in appearance, having thin stems with long internodes and small leaves. This is the form most often seen in cultivation, where it is often grown as a hanging plant.

*arenicola = sand dweller.

Vanzijlia annulata

There is only a single species in the genus Vanzijlia, occurring in sand along the west coast, from Saldanha to Hondeklipbay and inland towards Clanwilliam on loam.

The plants form small tangled shrubs, with branches creeping or growing upwards into other shrubs. They have dimorphic leaf pairs:
– a smaller, nearly completely fused pair which is oblong or spherical, with or without small free points to the leaves
– a larger pair in which the leaves are more or less cylindrical or semi-cylindrical and only fused at the base (often inflated there).
The pale pink to white flowers are solitary, 2.5 to 6 cm in diameter and appear in late autumn to winter (May-September). After pollination they develop into capsules with 9 or 10 compartments.

Euphorbia schoenlandii (Noordpol)

With its robust columns up to 1.3 m tall and up to 20 cm in diameter, this species is often easily spotted from far away. Its distribution area is southern Namaqualand, where it occurs on sandy/loamy flats.
The stems are simple or rarely branched and have large hexagonal tubercles and short-lived leaves. They are decorated with sharp hard spines which are derived from sterile peduncles and up to 5 cm long.
The inflorescences (cyathia) are usually solitary on short peduncles and appear in April-June.

E. fasciculata is similar, but much smaller and does not have sharp pointed spines.

A rare crested specimen

Stomatium suaveolens

Stomatium is one of the few genera of the Aizoaceae with obviously scented flowers. This species even derives its name from that fact (suaveolens = with a sweet smell).
The plants form compact, flat to somewhat rounded clumps with rough leaves which are 1-2 cm long, 0.9-1.5 cm wide and 0.7-0.9 cm thick.
Usually the yellow flowers appear in May-July; they are to 1.5 cm in diameter and open in the evening.
The species occurs on flat rock slabs (see first picture) in the Fraserburg – Sutherland – Williston area, where severe frost is a normal phenomenon in winter.
In the second picture you may also spot Crassula corallina.

Haworthia maraisii v. maraisii

The pictures below were made on the edge of a Eucalyptus forest a few hundred meters from my home. As is usual for them, the plants occur here on rocky outcrops, well hidden in patches of coarse sand or between stones.
They slowly form small groups of rosettes. Each rosette is 4 -7 cm in diameter, consisting of few to many, dark green to brown leaves which are usually flat above and rough with raised tubercles; the margins and keel are decorated with small spines.
In March- May the plants produce inflorescences up to 30 cm tall with white flowers (often with a yellow throat).

Accompanied by Adromischus filicaulis ssp. marlothii