Conophytum

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Conophytum
Conophytum ampliatum.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Caryophyllales
Family: Aizoaceae
Subfamily: Ruschioideae
Tribe: Ruschieae
Genus: Conophytum
N.E.Br.
Species

See text

Conophytum flavum Conophytum flavum flavum - CT.jpg
Conophytum flavum
Conophytum calculus 1 Conophytum calculus - RSA 3.jpg
Conophytum calculus
Conophytum burgeri Conophytum burgeri in cultivation 1.jpg
Conophytum burgeri
Conophytum breve Conophytum breve 1.jpg
Conophytum breve

Conophytum is a genus of South African and Namibian succulent plants that belong to the family Aizoaceae. The name is derived from the Latin conus (cone) and Greek phytum (plant). The plants are also known as knopies (buttons in Afrikaans), waterblasies (water blisters in Afrikaans), sphaeroids, conos, cone plants, dumplings, or button plants.

Contents

Taxonomy

The genus is sometimes wrongly referred to as Conophyton, the name that Adrian Hardy Haworth suggested in 1821: "If this section proves to be a genus, the name of Conophyton would be apt". However, this was too tentative to establish a validly published generic name and also, Haworth himself neither adopted it nor accepted the genus. The genus was neither recognised nor validly named until the name Conophytum was published 101 years later. [1]

Description

Conophytum species are dwarf cushion-forming or single-bodied succulents. Members of the genus are tiny plants with succulent leaves ranging from 1/4" to 2" in length. These leaves are partially or entirely fused along their centers. Each leaf pair (together referred to as a body) ranges in shape from "bilobed" to spherical to ovoid to tubular to conical. Some species have epidermal windows on the top of their leaves. To the naked eye the epidermis ranges from very smooth to slightly rough to hairy, depending on the microscopic epidermal cell shape and structure. In their normal, natural state each stem has only one pair of leaves at a time though one plant may have dozens of stems and thus dozens of leaf pairs. When very heavy rains come to their native habitat they may grow luxuriantly and develop two leaf pairs per stem simultaneously; this is called "stacking up" of the leaves. The plants grow very slowly; depending on the species, a 50-year-old plant might not be bigger than a walnut. [2]

Cultivation

Several species of Conophytum are found in cultivation. In temperate regions they are best grown in a specialist medium with the protection of glass, as they do not tolerate temperatures below 0 °C (32 °F).

Conservation

Recently several species have been threatened with extinction due to mining and poaching from the wild for the black market. These plants are mainly sold to collectors in Asian countries, where there has been a high demand for them. [3] In June 2021, police arrested a dozen men at a farm in the Western Cape for possession of 4,000 Conophytum acutum ; this came as a surprise as scientists thought there were only about a thousand of the plants in the wild and none on the farm in question. [2] Teams at the Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden are collecting and categorising seeds from Conophytum and other succulents in partnership with the Millennium Seed Bank. [2]

Species

This is a list of species in the genus Conophytum. [4]

Conophytum seitubum Conophytum seitubum.jpg
Conophytum seitubum

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<i>Conophytum calculus</i> Species of plant in the family Aizoaceae

Conophytum calculus is a small South African species of succulent plant in the family Aizoaceae.

<i>Conophytum burgeri</i> Species of succulent

Conophytum burgeri is a small, endangered, South African species of succulent plant, of the genus Conophytum.

<i>Conophytum breve</i> Species of succulent

Conophytum breve is a small South African species of succulent plant of the genus Conophytum.

<i>Conophytum flavum</i> Species of succulent

Conophytum flavum, the yellow cone plant, is a small South African species of succulent flowering plant of the family Aizoaceae.

<i>Conophytum ficiforme</i> Species of succulent

Conophytum ficiforme is a small South African species of succulent plant of the genus Conophytum.

<i>Conophytum truncatum</i> Species of succulent

Conophytum truncatum is a small South African species of succulent plant of the genus Conophytum.

<i>Conophytum hammeri</i> Species of succulent

Conophytum hammeri is a small, endangered, South African species of succulent plant, of the genus Conophytum.

<i>Glottiphyllum regium</i> Species of succulent

Glottiphyllum regium is a rare species of succulent plant, in the family Aizoaceae. It is known locally as "koeispene". It is restricted to a small arid area near Calitzdorp in the Western Cape, South Africa.

References

  1. McNeill, J. et al (eds) "International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (Vienna Code). Regnum Vegetabile" 146. A.R.G. Gantner Verlag 2006. KG. ISBN   3-906166-48-1
  2. 1 2 3 "These tiny succulents are under siege from international crime rings". National Geographic. 2022-03-08. Archived from the original on 2022-03-16. Retrieved 2022-03-16.
  3. "Why the Black Market for Cacti and Succulents is Booming".
  4. Hammer, S.(2002) Dumpling and His Wife: New Views of the Genus Conophytum EAE Creative Colour Ltd. ISBN   0-9539326-1-3