In general, this species is similar to E. mammillaris or heptagona, but it combines a very short main stem with a tuberous main root, so that it forms a roughly cylindrical body which is almost completely hidden in the ground.
The branches are more or less upright, 1-3 cm in diameter and 8-40 (-70) cm long; they have 6-14 angles, with or without weak spines which -if present- are spreading and 1-2.5 cm long.
The plants flower in March-August and are found in open scrubland on lower gravelly slopes in the Worcester-Montagu-Swellendam area.
As witnessed by the pictures, the plants may be very variable, depending on the habitat conditions.
The softly woody branches of these shrubs bear heart shaped to roundish leaves 0.5-2 cm in diameter, velvety hairy and greyish green, with a coarsely toothed margin.
In May-October the plants put forth inflorescences, each with 2-9 flowers about 2 cm across; the petals are pink to mauve to deep magenta, with dark purple spots and stripes.
The species is widespread from Vanrhynsdorp to Montagu and Calitzdorp, usually on rocky outcrops. As the shrubs become up to 1 m tall, they make great garden plants in a suitable climate.
Some forms of this species are among the most beautiful that Crassula has to offer and in such a big genus with many attractive species, that’s quite something. As the pictures show, the plants are variable in many respects, especially shape, size and arrangement of the leaves.
When not in flower, the plants are up to 8 cm tall, often with several short branches. Each branch forms a short, 4-angled column up to 2.5 cm in diameter, bearing closely packed leaves which are 0.6-1.5 (-2) cm long and 0.3-1 (1.5) cm wide.
The leaves are acute or obtuse, flat or slightly concave above and very convex below, somewhat boat-shaped and densely covered with hard, almost spherical papillae.
Old leaves will shrivel a lot, but stay attached to the branches.
In December-March the plants produce miniature flowers in small clusters on peduncles 2-8 cm long.
The species is widely distributed in south-western Namibia and in north-western South Africa as far east as Kakamas and south to Vanrhynsdorp, usually on gentle slopes or on rocky outcrops, often among quartz gravel.
The genus Antegibbaeum contains only this species. It is endemic to the western part of the Little Karoo, where it may occur in great numbers, usually on clayey soil in quartz patches and often accompanied by Gibbaeums.
At first sight, the plants are very similar to those of Argyroderma fissum. They are branched from the base, with upright or flat-growing stems, forming clumps up to 18 cm across.
The leaves of each pair are slightly unequal, greyish-green, sometimes reddish.
Older leaves are often covered in an unsightly black fungus (also see Cerochlamys).
The flowers have short stalks and are deep pink to violet-red; they are to 6 cm in diameter and appear in in late winter and early spring: August-September.
Common names for this species are volstruistone (ostrich toes) and bobbejaanvingertjies (baboon fingers).
Usually found in dry scrub on shallow, stony ground, this attractive species is widespread in the Great Karoo where the plants form more or less dense clumps up to a meter tall and 1.5 m in diameter.
The branches are 3-8 cm thick, cylindrical to club-shaped, with 10-16 angles. The star-shaped spines to which the species name refers, are in fact modified fertile peduncles and are 0.4-2 cm long.
Flowers appear from July to September.
Didymaotus means twin-flowered and refers to the way in which (usually) a flower is formed on each side of the leaf-pair – a feature which is not found elsewhere in the family.
The plant bodies are single or form compact little clumps with age. Each body consists of leaves up to 4 cm long, broad and thick, usually greyish green or brownish-reddish.
The flowers are up to 4 cm in diameter, usually pink/purple, rarely white. They appear in September-October.
This curious plant is found in only a few localities in the Tanqua and southern Ceres Karoo, almost always together with Lithops comptonii. The rainfall occurs mainly in winter here.
More information can be found here: http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantcd/didylapid.htm
Barbata means bearded and it would be hard to come up with a more apt name for this interesting little gem which is not just beautiful, but also interesting in an ecological sense.
The pictures show how dramatically the appearance of the plants changes between late autumn and late spring. Please bear in mind that the plants occur in the southern hemisphere, and also that they only grow in the cooler and wetter months (autumn to early spring).
In nature, these plants are short-lived (1-2 years). They are so-called monocarpic, which means they die after flowering (new rosettes may be produced at the base).
Their leaves are variable in shape and about 1-2 cm long and 2-3.5 cm wide. They are fringed with relative long hairs (cilia), which may be up to 0.5 cm in length and are able to absorb dew. Over a hundred years ago, Marloth found out that plants of this species could absorb in this way more than 5 % of their weight per night.
Although the plants are stemless, they are up to 30 cm tall when in flower (September-November).
This subspecies is widespread from the Cederberg to the Little Karoo, always occurring in small numbers, as a rule in shade, under shrubs or on rocky slopes.
Ssp. broomii is only known from near Victoria West and mainly differs in the much shorter cilia (less than 1 mm).
Mid May (Late autumn)End of JulyEarly AugustEarly AugustLate SeptemberEarly OctoberEnd of October (Late Spring)
With summer approaching, the rosettes have closed to minimize transpiration. The cover of long hairs also acts as insulation against strong light and desiccating winds.
In the field, one now and then comes across Mesembs with blackish stains which apparently are caused by fungi (sooty moulds) that grow on the sweet honeydew secreted by-sap sucking insects.
Although this makes the plants less attractive to look at, they do not normally seem to suffer much from it. The subject of this post is often a victim of these attacks; other well-known examples are Antegibbaeum, Cephalophyllum and Cylindrophyllum.
Over time, C. pachyphylla will form clumps of waxy* grayish leaves which are up to 6 cm long and three-angled in cross-section with a very oblique keel.
Usually the flowers are purple pink, rarely white or pale yellow. They are 2.5-3.5 cm in diameter and appear in late autumn to winter( May-July).
Although there are not very many populations, the plants are often locally abundant on sandstone rocks and shale ridges in the Little Karoo between Barrydale and Oudtshoorn.
* The genus name is derived from ceros = wax and chlamys = mantle.
A widespread a and very variable taxon* occurring in loamy and clayey soils and on stony slopes from the mouth of the Orange river to the southwestern Cape and the eastern end of the Little Karoo.
The plants have stems 1-2 cm thick, with or without fine hairs, and form clumps up to 25 cm in diameter and 30 cm tall.
The flowers are 5-14 cm in diameter and vary from uniform reddish-purple to striped red and yellow, with or without soft hairs in the centre and along the margins. They appear in March-October.
Usually this is a low shrub up to 30 cm tall, but sometimes it has a different growth form (ranging from cushion-like to scrambling).
Its stems are weakly woody and have a conspicuous cork layer.
The yellow-green leaves are 4-ranked and almost cylindrical, with conspicuous and usually large bladders cells.
The flowers are 2-3.5 cm in diameter, pale yellow, sometimes pale pink or salmon; they appear in August-October and produce capsules with 4- to 5 compartments
Widespread on dry flats from Kenhardt and Gamoep via Vanrhynsdorp and Calvinia to Swellendam and Prince Albert.
