Conophytum
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Conophytum is a plant kind from the family of aizoaceae (Aizoaceae). The botanical name of the genus is derived from the Greek words κωνος (conus) for "cone" and φυτόν (phyton) for "plant" and refers to the conically overgrown leaves in many species.
description
The plants of the genus Conophytum grow compact to lawn-forming. They form flat mats, curved pillows or chaotically shaped, low tufts. The obverse-conical, spherical, cylindrical or conical plant body consists of a pair of completely or almost over the entire length fused leaves , which are often separated at the tip by a gap. The green to brown, reddish or whitish-blue leaves are glabrous to densely papillae and are usually dotted or lined on their end surface and are often velvety, warty or fenestrated. During the dry period, old leaves turn into a dry shell that protects the newly formed leaves. The outer epidermal layer contains crystal sand , with the crystals usually getting larger from the tip of the leaf to the base.
The bracts are hidden in the body of the plant. The stalked flowers appear singly or in small groups with up to three individual flowers. The calyx is four to eight lobed. The pink, purple, purple, black, purple, red, maroon, orange, golden, yellow, brown or white petals form a tube. The stamens are white, yellow, green, red or purple in color. The short or long ovary is sometimes not fused and has three to eight carpels .
Most species bloom in autumn. The flowers open either during the day or at dusk or at night. Some species show unusual flowering behavior. Conophytum burgeri only opens the flowers for an hour in the evening. Conophytum smorenskaduense no longer closes the flowers after opening. Some species ( e.g. Conophytum rugosum ) are cleistogamous , i.e. i.e., they do not open the flowers.
The three to eight fan-shaped fruits are similar to those of the genus Delosperma . The very small, mostly golden brown, rarely dark or pale brown seeds are pear-shaped to almost spherical and 0.5 to 0.75 millimeters long and 0.30 to 0.35 millimeters wide.
Systematics, number of chromosomes and distribution
The distribution area of the genus Conophytum extends in Namibia from Lüderitz southwards to Warmbad and in South Africa in the province of North Cape through the Namaqualand , via Calvinia , extends west to Kenhardt (municipality of Kai ǃGarib ) and in the south to Cape Town . From Cape Town it stretched in a narrow strip to Steytlerville in the Western Cape Province . The main range of the species is the Namaqualand. The plants grow on well-drained rocky subsoil in a wide variety of substrates, often in crevices or rubble and often together with mosses and lichens . The annual rainfall is less than 300 millimeters, with the majority falling in winter.
The chromosome number is rare .
The first description was published in 1922 by Nicholas Edward Brown . The type species is Conophytum truncatum . According to Steven A. Hammer (* 1951) the genus is divided into two sub-genera and includes the following species:
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literature
- PS Green, Klaus Kubitzki, E. Götz, KU Kramer: The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants . Volume 1, p. 60, Springer, 1990, ISBN 3-540-55509-9
- SA Hammer: Conophytum . In: Heidrun EK Hartmann : Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants: Aizoaceae AE , Springer Verlag, Berlin / Heidelberg / New York 2001, pp. 124-175, ISBN 3-540-41691-9
- Gideon Smith et al. a .: Mesembs of the World: Illustrated Guide to a Remarkable Succulent Group . Briza Publications 1998, pp. 86-93. ISBN 1-875093-13-3
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gardeners' Chronicle . Series 3, Volume 71, p. 198, London 1922
- ^ SA Hammer: Conophytum . In: Heidrun EK Hartmann: Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants: Aizoaceae AE , Springer Verlag, Berlin / Heidelberg / New York 2001, pp. 124–175
further reading
- Steven Hammer: The Genus Conophytum: A Conograph . Umdaus Press, South Africa 1993, ISBN 0-620-17633-4
- Steven Hammer: Dumpling and His Wife: New Views of the Genus Conophytum . EAE Creative Color Ltd. 2002, ISBN 0-9539326-1-3
Web links
- Article on the genus in Avonia-News No. 7, 2008
- Pictures from the location and from culture