Vlokia ater
| Vlokia ater | ||||||||||||
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| Systematics | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name of the genus | ||||||||||||
| Vlokia | ||||||||||||
| SAHammer | ||||||||||||
| Scientific name of the species | ||||||||||||
| Vlokia ater | ||||||||||||
| SAHammer |
Vlokia ater is the only plant of monotypic genus Vlokia from the family of aizoaceae (Aizoaceae). The botanical name of the genus honors the South African environmental consultant Jan HJ Vlok (* 1957). The epithet of the species is derived from the Latin adjective "ater" for "black" and refers to the black color that older leaves take on.
description
Vlokia ater is a compact to lawn-like growing, perennial succulent plant with short shoots that usually have a single pair of leaves. The stippled, dark green to black leaves are short triangular and remain on the plants for several years. They are about 10 millimeters long and about 8 millimeters wide and thick. The leaves are fused together and enclose the stem axis.
The individually standing, not widely opening flowers sit on a short flower stalk that bears bracts . There are six sepals . The pink petals are 1.5 millimeters wide. About 60 pink to white, thread-like staminodes surround the 16 or so stamens , which are papilose at the base . The nectarium forms a dark green ring.
Vlokia ater blooms in their homeland from August to September. The short-lived flowers open at noon and close at dusk.
The capsule fruits, which are usually six (rarely five or seven), often turn black with age. The very dark brown seeds are pear-shaped and very hard.
Systematics and distribution
The distribution area of Vlokia ater is limited to a small area near Montagu in the western Little Karoo in the South African province of Western Cape . It grows at altitudes of about 1300 meters in open areas of the fynbos vegetation in shallow, quartzite-filled hollows. The annual rainfall is around 300 millimeters, with the majority falling in the months of March and November.
The first description of the genus and species was published in 1994 by Steven A. Hammer (* 1951).
proof
literature
- Heidrun EK Hartmann : Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants: Aizoaceae FZ , Springer Verlag, Berlin / Heidelberg / New York 2001, p. 350, ISBN 3-540-41723-0
- Gideon Smith et al. a .: Mesembs of the World: Illustrated Guide to a Remarkable Succulent Group . Briza Publications 1998, pp. 130-131. ISBN 1-875093-13-3
Individual evidence
- ^ Cactus and Succulent Journal . Volume 66, No. 6, p. 256, Los Angeles 1994