| Mitrophyllum | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Mitrophyllum mitratum | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Aizoaceae |
| Subfamily: | Ruschioideae |
| Tribe: | Ruschieae |
| Genus: | Mitrophyllum (Marl.) Schwant. |
| Species | |
See text | |
| Synonyms | |
ConophyllumSchwantes | |
Mitrophyllum is a genus of succulent plants of the family Aizoaceae, indigenous to the arid region around the Richtersveld, on the border of South Africa and Namibia.
The species generally grow stems, at the top of which two succulent leaves appear. Similar to the closely related genera of Monilaria and Meyerophytum , these leaf-pairs alternate consecutively between two different types of leaf-growth (heterophylly) and during the exceptionally hot summer they remain inactive in a dry sheath. When fused together into a cone-shaped corpuscle, this leaf pair is referred to as the plant's "mitre", and this is the origin of the genus name. The two separate leaves of the free leaf-pair are rounded-triangular to tongue-shaped. The fused leaf-pair forms a cone-shaped to cylindrical corpuscle, which bears two smaller ear-like anthers at the top. This fused corpuscle dries out in the plant's dormancy period, eventually becoming a papery sheath in which the new (separate) leaf-pair forms.
In cultivation, the plants are not difficult to grow. However they require deep well-drained sandy soil and sufficient sun exposure. They are also adapted to very dry summers and watering mainly over the winter. Their period of growth is primarily over late autumn and winter.
They are slow growing, maturing over many decades, and are difficult to propagate by cuttings; consequently seed is the preferred means of propagation. [1]
Pachypodium bicolor is a species of plant in the family Apocynaceae.
Acer ginnala, the Amur maple, is a plant species with woody stems native to northeastern Asia from easternmost Mongolia east to Korea and Japan, and north to the Russian Far East in the Amur River valley. It is a small maple with deciduous leaves that is sometimes grown as a garden subject or boulevard tree.
Galeopsis tetrahit, the common hemp-nettle or brittlestem hempnettle, is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to Europe and northwestern Asia.
Felicia filifolia is a Southern African member of the family Asteraceae. It is a hardy, sprawling shrub growing to about 1 metre tall. Leaves are narrow and clustered along the twigs. When blooming it is densely covered in flowerheads with ray florets that are pink-mauve to white and disc florets that are yellow. In the wild, flowers can be found August to December.
Paeonia ludlowii, is a deciduous shrub of medium height, belonging to the tree peony section Moutan of the genus Paeonia, and endemic to southeast Tibet. In Tibet it is known as ≠'lumaidao' meaning "God's flower". The vernacular name in Chinese is 大花黄牡丹 meaning "big yellow-flowered peony". In English it is sometimes called Tibetan tree peony or Ludlow's tree peony. It has pure yellow, slightly nodding, bowl-shaped flowers, and large, twice compounded, light green leaves.
Pelargonium peltatum is a scrambling perennial plant with five shallow or deeply lobed, circular- to heart-shaped, somewhat fleshy leaves, sometimes with a differently coloured semicircular band, that has been assigned to the cranesbill family. It carries umbel-like inflorescences with 2–10, white to mauve, bilateral symmetrical flowers, each with a "spur" that is merged with the flower stalk. It is known by several common names including ivy-leaved pelargonium and cascading geranium. It is native to the Cape Provinces of South Africa. In its home range, it flowers year round but most vigorously from August to October.
Euphorbia royleana is a species of flowering plant in the family Euphorbiaceae. It is also known as Sullu spurge, and Royle's spurge. It is a succulent and almost cactus like in appearance although unrelated. It grows right across the Himalaya mountains from Pakistan, India, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal to western China, It prefers dry and rocky slopes between 1000 and 1500 meters, but has been found up to 2000 meters. Flowering and fruiting is in spring to early summer (March–July) and seeding is in June–October. It is used as a hedging plant in northern India and has medicinal uses.
Lapidaria is a monotypic genus of dwarf succulent plants in the family Aizoaceae. The only species it contains is Lapidaria margaretae, also known as the Karoo rose.
Crassula ovata, commonly known as jade plant, lucky plant, money plant or money tree, is a succulent plant with small pink or white flowers that is native to the KwaZulu-Natal and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa, and Mozambique; it is common as a houseplant worldwide. Much of its popularity stems from the low levels of care needed; the jade plant requires little water and can survive in most indoor conditions. It is sometimes referred to as the money tree; however, Pachira aquatica also has this nickname.
Meyerophytum is a genus of succulent plants of the family Aizoaceae, indigenous to the arid region of the Namaqualand and Richtersveld, in the far north-west of South Africa.
Leucospermum saxosum is an upright evergreen shrub of up to 2 m (6.6 ft) high, that is assigned to the family Proteaceae. It has lance-shaped, leathery leaves and egg-shaped flower heads of about 5 cm (2.0 in) in diameter, with initially yellow-orange flowers, later turning crimson, from which long styles stick out, giving the flower head the appearance of a pincushion. It is called escarpment pincushion in English. It grows on quartzite soils in the mountains on the Zimbabwe-Mozambique border and in eastern Transvaal.
Leucospermum truncatulum is a slender, upright, evergreen, hardly branching shrub of up to 2 m (6 ft) high, with felty inverted egg-shaped to oval, leaves with entire margins of 1–2½ cm (0.4–1.0 in) long and ½–1 cm (0.2–0.4 in) wide. It has small globe-shaped, at first yellow, later pinkish flower heads of 1½–2 cm (0.6-0.8 in) in diameter, without a stalk, usually crowded with two to eight together near the end of the stems. It is known as oval-leaf pincushion in English, and patrysbos or kleinkopspeldekussing in Afrikaans. It is an endemic species of the south of the Western Cape province of South Africa, and flowers between August and December.
Leucospermum pluridens is a large upright evergreen shrub of up to 3 m (9.8 ft) high assigned to the family Proteaceae. It has leathery, oblong to wedge-shaped leaves of about 7½ cm long and 2½ cm wide, deeply incised near the tip with seven to ten teeth. It has initially yellow, later carmine coloured flower heads. The 2 cm long bracts have slender, recurved tips. From the center of the perianth emerge long styles that jointly give the impression of a pincushion. It is called Robinson pincushion in English and Robinson-kreupelhout in Afrikaans. Flowers can be found between September and December. It naturally occurs in the south of South Africa.
Mairia crenata is a perennial herbaceous plant of mostly 2–15 cm (1–6 in) high that is assigned to the family Asteraceae. It has a woody rootstock of up to 5 cm (2 in) long, from which brown, fleshy roots develop. The five to eighteen, hard and leathery, spoon-shaped leaves are in one to three rosettes, have a distinct main vein, blunt or pointy tip, often dark red or blackish margins with rounded teeth and a ½–2 cm (0.2–0.8 in) long stalk-like foot, often initially somewhat woolly hairy, on particularly the lower surface and the main vein, but this is easily rubbed off the shiny surfaces. Each rosette produces mostly one, sometimes up to four, mostly rusty or whitish woolly hairy, brown or dark red inflorescence stalks, usually 1½–15 cm long, each with two to eight, initially woolly, line-shaped to oval bracts, the lowest up to 3 cm (1.2 in), decreasing size further up, and carrying mostly one, rarely up to three flower heads. The flower heads have a bell-shaped involucre with about 40 bracts, sixteen to thirty three violet to white ray florets of about 1¼–1⅞ cm long, and many yellow disc florets. The species flowers anywhere between February and December but only after a fire has destroyed the overhead biomass or serious disturbance. It is an endemic species that is restricted to the Eastern Cape and Western Cape provinces of South Africa.
Crassula atropurpurea is a succulent plant, very common and widespread in the southern Karoo regions of South Africa and Namibia.
Struthiola striata is a rounded, heather-like shrub of up to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) high that is assigned to the Thymelaeaceae family. It has small assending leaves on long straight branches, with cream, soft yellow or pinkish flowers in spikes, each of which consist of a tube of about 1 cm (0.39 in) long with 4 oval sepal lobes and 4 yellow alternating petal-like scales. It is sometimes called ribbed capespray or featherhead in English and roemenaggie, katstertjie or veërtjie in Afrikaans. It grows on coastal flats and foothills in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
Otholobium saxosum is a small shrublet of up to 20 cm (7.9 in) high that has been assigned to the Pea family, with branches upright or horizontal at the base with rising tips. It has sessile, clover-like leaves and white, pea-like flowers that grow in triplets in the axils of the upper leaves of new, short side shoots. The species is only known from Garcia's Pass in Western Cape province of South Africa. Flowering occurs in October and November.
Tylecodon paniculatus, also known as butter bush, butter tree, butterboom or rooisuikerblom (Afrikaans), is a species of succulent plant in the genus Tylecodon belonging to the family Crassulaceae.
Acrodon caespitosus, the Potberg tiptoothfig, is a species of mesemb from South Africa.
Adromischus filicaulis is a perennial, succulent plant in the family Crassulaceae. It is commonly called brosplakkies in Afrikaans. The species is endemic to South Africa and Namibia.
