Summary of Aizoaceae approximately 120 genera including: |
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 Acrodon N.E. Brown 1927
Name: Greek akros = point + odus = tooth, referring to the toothed leaves.
These plants form mats of disorganised rosettes of fleshy dark green leaves with a triangular crossection and rows of small teeth along their edges and keels. The large solitary flowers are on long stalks. Their petals have a darker stripe along their middle.
All four species are native to coastal South-Western and South-Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. They are hardy on well-drained sandy soils.
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Acrodon bellidiflorus N.E. Brown 1927
This is the type species for the genus. The large flowers are pale pink with a dark pink stripe along the middle of the petals and a central mass of pink staminodes surrounding the stamens.
Native to coastal South Africa where it receives both Summer and Winter rainfall.
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Name: Aloe + Greek opsis = appearance, resembles
This genus include 16 species of creeping rosulate succulents from Winter rainfall areas of the Eastern, Western and Northern Cape Provinces of South Africa. The roots are thick and in some species (e.g. Aloinopsis schooneesii) form a tuber which may be raised for display.
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Aloinopsis luckhoffii L. Bolus 1958 Syn. Aloinopsis setifera L. Bolus 1958
This plant forms a cluster of rosettes formed from fat, triangular leaves with tiny white pustules or teeth on their surfaces. Flowers are bright yellow, around an inch in diameter.
Native to limestone slopes of the central Karoo of South Africa, experiencing small amounts of Winter rainfall. Leaves become bronzed in full sun. In captivity, plants tend to become green and flabby.
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Name: Greek antimimos = imitating, as the first species described resembled Argyroderma.
A large genus with 99 species of compact mat and cushion-forming Mesembs from Namibia and South Africa. Most species were moved into this genus from Ruschia which they closely resemble and the genus is now somewhat heterogeneous in form. Antimima are mainly differentiated from Ruschia by the structure of their bowl-shaped fruits which have 5 locules and large closing bodies. The valves expand with the help of broad, irregularly-lobed expanding keels.
The small leaves have a triangular cross section, typically with roughened surfaces covered in wax. However, some species exhibit differentiation in leaf form with lower leaves forming a sheaf around the base of the later pair. The pink or purple or occasionally white flowers have a central cone of filamentous staminodes surrounding the yellow stamens.
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Antimima concinna H.E.K. Hartmann 1998 Syn. Ruschia concinna L. Bolus 1929
A dwarf shrubby plant with small purple flowers.
Native to the Western Cape of South Africa.
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Aptenia N.E. Brown 1925
Name: Greek a- without + pteron = wings, referring to wingless fruits.
This genus include 4 species of creeping to erect sub-shrubs from the Summer rainfall areas of South Africa.
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Photos: Thom Riddle 2007 |
Aptenia cordifolia Schwantes 1928
A prostrate creeping plant with fibrous roots and 4-angled stems bearing small, waxy, heart-shaped leaves with bladder cells which catch the sun. The small flowers are pink.
Many cultivated plants are hybrids (A. cordifolia x A. hackeliana) with narrower leaves than Aptenia cordifolia and red flowers like those of the variegated cultivar illustrated.
Aptenia cordifolia is native to coastal plains of the Eastern Cape of South Africa, where it tolerates sea spray, and KwaZulu-Natal. Aptenia cordifolia is a traditional medicinal plant said to have anti-inflammatory properites and used to dress wounds.
This prostrate creeper spreads as ground cover, often in light shade.
In a sunny, well-drained position it may even survive the British Winter. Aptenia cordifolia has become naturalised in many temperate countries and in some is regarded as an invasive weed.
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Name: Greek argyros = silver + derma = skin
This genus includes around 10 - 12 species, with many sub-species and synonyms, of short-stemmed clumping plants with pairs of highly succulent blue-green ovate to cylindrical leaves cleft in the middle. The daisy-like flowers produced from the cleft between the leaves may be white, yellow, or purple and colour variation is seen even within single populations.
The genus is restricted to the Knersvlatke area in southern Namaqualand in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Plants mostly grow in quartzite patches. They should be watered during the late Summer.
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Argyroderma patens L. Bolus 1950
This plant forms a compact cluster of keeled ovate leaves supported on branching stems. Flowers may be white, yellow, pink to purple.
Native to the West coast of South Africa around Vanrhynsdorp and Vredendal, typically growing in quartzite patches.
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Bijlia N.E. Brown 1928 Syn. Bolusanthemum
Named for: Mrs. D. van der Bijl, plant collector
The genus is either monotypic for Bijlia tugwelliae or includes two rather similar species with a similar distribution. The compact plants have three to five branches bearing rosettes formed from pairs of thickened keeled blue-green leaves and bright yellow flowers with a central tuft of yelow stamens. The outer epidermis contains a thick layer of crystals of oxalate giving a whiteish appearance.
In some taxonomic treatments (e.g. L. Bolus 1930) Hereroa is merged with Bijlia.
Native to the Great Karoo of South Africa.
B. cana = Pleiospilos compactus ssp. canus
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Bijlia tugwelliae Syn. Hereroa tugwelliae L. Bolus 1928
This is the type species for the genus.
B. dilatata has thicker leaves.
However, within a single clump of Bijlia a range of leaf thicknesses can be observed.
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Name: Greek cheiridis = sleeve + opsis = similar to, referring to the old, withered leaf pair forming a sheaf around the new leaf pair during Summer dormancy.
This genus includes around 100 species, of compact, clumping plants with elongated, opposite fleshy grey-green leaves with a triangular cross-section and velvety surface. The single daisy-like flower may be cream, yellow, orange, red or purple.
The genus is distributed from Namaqualand of the Western Cape Province, South Africa into Namibia. Most species experience Winter rainfall.
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Cheiridopsis caroli-schmidtii N.E. Brown 1926
Named for: Carl Schmidt (German nurseryman in Erfurt ?)
This plant has two pairs of 3-angled, pointed blue-green leaves covered with tiny translucent dots. The plant clumps up with age. The solitary flowers are yellow.
Native to Namibia and Northern parts of the Western Cape Province, South Africa.
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Cheiridopsis denticulata N.E. Brown 1926
This plant forms a cluster of elongated angular leaves with pointed tips. The large daisy-like flowers are cream to yellow.
Native to Namaqualand of the Western Cape Province, South Africa.
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Cheiridopsis speciosa L. Bolus 1927
This plant forms a compact cluster of angular leaves with pointed tips. Flowers are red to purple.
Native to Namaqualand of the Western Cape Province, South Africa.
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Conophytum N.E. Brown 1922 (Afrikaans: knopies = buttons)
Name: Latin conos = cone + phytum = plant
This genus consists of 88 species, with many synonyms, of dwarf succulent plants with a single fleshy body composed of two leaves partly or entirely fused along their centres. Depending on the degree of fusion plants may have a bilobed or spherical appearance. The upper leaf surface may have transluscent windows and may be smooth, rough or pubescent. The leaf colour varies from blue-green through green to brown and red. Some species of Conophytum produce many stems and leaf pairs, forming a compact cushion while others are solitary. Stems may develop two leaf pairs when overwatered in captivity or following heavy rain in their habitat. However, it is more usual for the older leaf pair to shrivel and form a membrane around the developing second leaf pair. Flowers are white to yellow, orange, pink, and purple.
Native to central and Western South African and Namibia. This free-flowering genus is popular among collectors of succulent plants as a substantial collection can be housed in a small area. Selected forms have been developed, especially in Japan, to emphasise particular charactristics of a plant e.g. squareness. Conophytums are mainly Winter growers but watering can be started in mid-Summer.
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Conophytum fraternum N.E. Brown 1922
The small bodies are almost spherical with a minimal groove between the opposite leaves. The leaf surface is covered with tiny dark spots. Flowers are white. Plants may form large clumps.
Native to elevations of up to 3800 ft in the North-Western Cape of South Africa, growing in crevices in rocks.
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Conophytum velutinum Schwantes 1927
Name: Latin velutinae = velvety
The small heart-shaped grey-green plant bodies are speckled with a few darker dots. There is a minimal groove between the opposite leaves. Flowers are magenta with yellow stamens.
Native to the Northern Cape of South Africa.
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Delosperma N.E. Brown 1925 (ice plant)
Name: Greek delos = open, apparent + sperma = seed, referring to visible seeds in the open seed capsule.
This genus include 170 species of creeping plants to dwarf sub-shrubs, sometimes divided into the three three genera Delosperma, Hartmanthus and Corpuscularia.
The genus is spread across Africa into Arabia, Madagascar and Réunion island. Most species are from Summer rainfall areas and cover a range from sea shore to high mountains. Some alpine species, especially the mat-forming yellow-flowered Delosperma nubigenum from Lesotho, are half-hardy in a sunny position in very well-drained soil. Delosperma nubigenum and some other species are said to be deer-resistant.
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Delosperma brunnthaleri Schwantes 1933
This species makes a freely-branching 16in tall sub-shrub with grey-green leaves, slightly pubescent especially leaf margins and tips. The purple flowers have pale pink stamens with yellow anthers.
Native to Uitenhage, South Africa.
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Delosperma cooperi L. Bolus 1927
This species makes a freely-branching 8in tall, sprawling sub-shrub. The purple flowers have pale pink to white stamens with yellow anthers.
Native to mountains of South Africa, Lesotho and Orange Free State, mainly Summer rainfall areas. Half-hardy in a very well-drained sunny position.
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Delosperma esterhuyseriae L. Bolus 1959
This species is a compact plant with ovate, smooth grey-green leaves. The white flowers have white stamens with yellow anthers.
Native to cliifs at 2300 ft above sea level, Uniondale, South Africa.
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Delosperma kofleri Lavis 1966
Native to Basutoland. Bedded out in the Rockery at Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, where it appears to be hardy.
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Delosperma sutherlandii N.E. Brown 1926
This species makes a freely-branching 8in tall sub-shrub with grey-green leaves, slightly pubescent especially leaf margins and tips. The bright purple flowers have white stamens with yellow anthers.
Native to grasslands in the South African Transvaal. This species is very free-flowering with a long flowering period.
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Dorotheanthus Schwantes 1927
Named for: Dorothea Schwantes, mother of Prof. G. Schwantes + Greek: Anthos = flower
A genus with 6 species of fleshy trailing to erect annuals with solitary, large, brightly coloured flowers, usually with dark centres.
Native to the Winter rainfall areas of South Africa including Namaqualand, North and Western Cape. As annuals, Dorotheanthus species would not usually be seen in succulent plant shows, but their bright flowers would be welcome in the garden.
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Dorotheanthus apetalus N.E. Brown 1928 Syn. D. gramineus Schwantes 1927
This upright to trailing plant has simple, linear, fleshy leaves and during the Summer produces solitary crimson, pink or white flowers with a dark central disk.
Native to South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland.
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Ebracteola Dinter & Schwantes 1927
Name: Latin bracteola = small bract + e- = without, incorrectly suggesting an absence of bracteoles.
Four species of small clumping succulent plants with a stout rootstock or tap-root. Short stems carry alternate, lanceolate leaves. The white to purple daisy-like flowers have a dense central cone of white stamens with yellow anthers.
The genus is distributed in central Namibia, Northern and North-West Cape Privince and central South Africa. In their habitat, plants often grow partly submerged by wind-blown sand.
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Ebracteola montis-moltkei Dinter & Schwantes 1927 Syn. Hereroa vallis-pacis
is an evergreen plant with lanceolate silvery-grey leaves with a triangular cross section, arranged alternately along the short stems. The small solitary daisy-like flowers are lavender or white.
The most northenly-distributed species, native to Namibia.
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Faucaria Schwantes 1926 (Tiger Jaws)
Name: Latin fauces = jaws
The genus formerly included 37 species, but a recent revision reduced this to 6 species. They have tight rosettes formed from several opposite pairs of thick, triangular, light-green leaves whose upper margin is furnished with long, soft spines. Leaf surfaces may be mottled or pustulate. In late Summer golden-yellow or white flowers are produced.
Native to the Eastern Cape, Little Karoo and Great Karoo of South Africa. Some forms in cultivation may be hybrids selected for particularly warty leaves and prominent teeth.
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Faucaria felina Schwantes 1926 Syn. Faucaria kingiae L. Bolus 1937
This variable species includes many synonyms formerly classed as separate species. Leaf surfaces have some white pustules and there are marginal teeth.
Native to South Africa.
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Faucaria tigrina Schwantes 1926
This is the classic "Tiger Jaws" plant with particularly prominent marginal teeth and pustulate leaf surfaces.
Native to South Africa. A relatively tolerant plant seen on many window-ledges.
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Fenestraria N.E. Brown 1925 (Afrikaans: vensterplant = window plant)
Name: Latin fenestra = window, refering to the windowed leaf ends.
From fleshy roots and short stems arise numerous grey-green conical leaves with flat, windowed ends. The leaf surface is smooth and waxy. The plants grow to form large mats. Relatively large daisy-like yellow or white flowers are produced on long stems.
This monotypic genus is distributed along the coastal South African Richtersveld into Namibia, generally within 25 miles of the sea. In their habitat, plants often grow in sandy or calciferous soils, partly submerged by wind-blown sand with only the windowed ends exposed. They experience low <100 mm annual rainfall.
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Fenestraria rhopalophylla N.E. Brown 1925
Name: Greek rhopalon = mace, club + phyllon = leaf
There are two subspecies:
Fenestraria rhopalophylla ssp. rhopalophylla
2 in white flowers - Northern part of distribution
Fenestraria rhopalophylla ssp. aurantiaca (illustrated)
2.75 in golden-yellow flowers - Southern part of distribution
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Gibbaeum N.E. Brown 1921 (Afrikaans: volstruistone = ostrich toes)
Name: Greek gibba = hump, referring to the 2 leaves of each pair which differ in size and shape.
The 26 species in this genus are somewhat varied in form. They consist of pairs of generally unequal pairs of leaves, fused into bodies with a cleft between the two halves to a variable extent. The leaf surfaces are often velvety from the presence of minute hairs. The bodies form dense clumps, supported by underlying woody stems and rootstock. The flowers produced in late Winter to Spring are on short pedicels and are white, pink to dark purple, never yellow.
Native to the Little Karoo of the Western Cape of South Africa where they experience both Winter and Summer rainfall. Often found associated with quartz pebbles. The leaves are relished by ostriches as a source of water during drought.
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Gibbaeum dispar N.E. Brown 1926
This small-growing species forms clumps of blue-green plant bodies consisting of a woody stem with two unequal, slightly keeled leaves at its end. The leaf surface is covered in minute hairs. The solitary flowers are pink with yellow stamens.
Native to a small area of the Little Karoo near Vanwyksdorp.
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Gibbaeum heathii L. Bolus 1937
Named for: Dr. Francis Harold Rodier Heath (1874-1940) English collector of Mesembs.
The compact globose bodies of this species are formed from two unequal blue-green leaves fused together, with a central groove delineating their junction. Old plants have stems covered with the remains of dead leaves. Flowers are pale purple or white.
Native to the Little Karoo of South Africa.
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Gibbaeum velutinum Schwantes 1927
Name: Latin velutinae = velvety
In this species the two keeled leaves are strap-shaped although basally fused, with a spreading appearance. Flowers are white to purple.
Native to the Western Cape of South Africa.
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Name: Greek glottis = tongue + phyllon = leaf
The 17 species of clumping plants consist of opposite pairs of soft, lax, strap-shaped leaves forming loose rosettes or arranged on a single axis (distichous). The foliage of the more lax species is easily damaged and can become unsightly. Cultivation seems to exacerbate untidy growth. The large yellow flowers are generally produced in Spring or Autumn reflecting the peak exposure to the sparse rainfall, but may appear at any time in response to watering.
Native to the Southern Cape interior from the Little Karoo towards the Great Karoo.
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Glottiphyllum longum N.E. Brown 1922 Syn. G. propinquum N.E. Brown 1929
A mat-forming plant whose rosettes are formed from elongated, spatulate green leaves with pointed tips. The flowers are bright yellow.
Native to the Western and Eastern Cape of South Africa.
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Glottiphyllum nelii Schwantes 1928 Syn. G. pygmaeum L. Bolus 1933
Name: Latin pygmaeus = dwarf
This dwarf form produces several opposite pairs of distichous, rounded, tongue-like dark-green leaves on each branch of the stem, clumping up to form a spreading mat. The large, yellow, daisy-like flowers are very showy.
Native to the Western and Eastern Cape of South Africa. If overwatered, the leaves elongate spoiling the dwarf habit.
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Glottiphyllum oligocarpum L. Bolus 1934
A mat-forming plant whose rosettes are formed from pairs of lax, strap-shaped green leaves with pointed tips arranged on a single axis (distichous). The flowers are bright yellow.
Native to the Eastern Cape of South Africa, where it grows among quartz pebbles.
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Glottiphyllum peersii L. Bolus 1934
A mat-forming plant whose rosettes are formed from elongated, cylindrical green leaves with pointed tips. The flowers are bright yellow.
Native to the Western Cape of South Africa, where it grows among quartz pebbles.
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Glottiphyllum regium N.E. Brown 1928 Syn. G. compressum L. Bolus 1931
A mat-forming plant whose rosettes are formed from elongated, keel-shaped green leaves with pointed tips arranged on a single axis (distichous). The flowers are bright yellow.
Native to the Calitzdorp region of the Western Cape of South Africa.
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Hereroa Dinter & Schwantes 1927
Name: Herero tribe in Namibia
The genus includes 30 species of mat-forming plants with soft, triangular shaped leaves, sometimes roughened with small, slightly-raised dots on their upper surface and with notched or flattened tips. The outer epidermis contains a thin layer of crystals of oxalate or none.
In some taxonomic treatments, Hereroa is merged with Bijlia.
Native to South Africa.
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Hereroa calycina L. Bolus 1928
A dwarf Mesemb with cylindrical lanceolate leaves, whose surface is patterned with many tiny raised dots. The small flowers are yellow to orange.
Native to the Cape Province of South Africa.
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Name: Greek lampros = shining + anthos = flower
The 227 species include creeping plants to sub-shrubs. The smooth stems support opposite pairs of smooth, elongated cylindrical or triangular leaves which are free or slightly fused at their base. Leaves may be up to 2 in long. The white, yellow, orange, red or purple flowers occur singly or in small clusters and can be extremely showy. The glossy petals catch the light and many species have bicoloured flowers.
Native to a band around the coast of the Western and Eastern Cape Province and as far North as Southern Namibia. Lampranthus is a common garden plant in warm climates.
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Lampranthus deltoides Glen ex Wijnands 1983
Syn. Oscularia deltoides Schwantes 1927 (Dassievygie, Sandsteenvygie)
Name: Latin deltoides = triangular
A dwarf sprawling, shrubby plant with pairs of ovate, toothed, 3-angled grey-green leaves. The small 0.5 inch purple, almond-scented flowers have a central cone of staminode filaments surrounding the stamens.
Native to sandstone mountains just North of the Cape peninsula in the South-Western Cape of South Africa where it experiences Winter rainfall.
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Lampranthus haworthii N.E. Brown 1930
This species is an erect sub-shrub with pairs of elongated, cylindrical, blue-green leaves fused at their base. The large flowers are shiny pink, purple or white.
Native to the Little Karoo and the region of the Karoo from Worcester to Robertson, enjoying mainly Winter rainfall. The plant grows readily from cuttings, which should be used to regenerate old, woody plants.
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Families of Succulent Plants 
