| Portulacaria armiana | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Didiereaceae |
| Genus: | Portulacaria |
| Species: | P. armiana |
| Binomial name | |
| Portulacaria armiana van Jaarsv. | |
Portulacaria armiana (previously Ceraria armiana), also known as the whipstick-porkbush, is a succulent plant native to southwestern Namibia. [1]
It grows as a low shrub. It can be distinguished from its relatives by its large, grey-green waxy leaves, and its extremely tall inflorescence ("whipstick"), which rises unusually high (up to 8 metres (26 ft)).
Within the genus Portulacaria , it is most closely related to its sister-species Portulacaria namaquensis . [2]
Its natural habitat is the lower reaches of the Orange River valley of Namibia, near the border with South Africa. In this extremely arid, winter-rainfall area, it favours mildly acidic sands on high granite outcrops.
It grows in full sun in extremely well-drained soil, and can be propagated by seed or cuttings. [3]
Welwitschia is a monotypic genus of gymnosperm, the sole described species being the distinctive Welwitschia mirabilis, endemic to the Namib desert within Namibia and Angola. Welwitschia is the only living genus of the family Welwitschiaceae and order Welwitschiales in the division Gnetophyta, and is one of three living genera in Gnetophyta, alongside Gnetum and Ephedra. Informal sources commonly refer to the plant as a "living fossil".
The Namib is a coastal desert in Southern Africa. According to the broadest definition, the Namib stretches for more than 2,000 kilometres (1,200 mi) along the Atlantic coasts of Angola, Namibia, and northwest South Africa, extending southward from the Carunjamba River in Angola, through Namibia and to the Olifants River in Western Cape, South Africa. The Namib's northernmost portion, which extends 450 kilometres (280 mi) from the Angola-Namibia border, is known as Moçâmedes Desert, while its southern portion approaches the neighboring Kalahari Desert. From the Atlantic coast eastward, the Namib gradually ascends in elevation, reaching up to 200 kilometres (120 mi) inland to the foot of the Great Escarpment. Annual precipitation ranges from 2 millimetres (0.079 in) in the aridest regions to 200 millimetres (7.9 in) at the escarpment, making the Namib the only true desert in southern Africa. Having endured arid or semi-arid conditions for roughly 55–80 million years, the Namib may be the oldest desert in the world and contains some of the world's driest regions, with only western South America's Atacama Desert to challenge it for age and aridity benchmarks.
Cryptostegia grandiflora, commonly known as rubber vine, is a woody-perennial vine that is native to south-west Madagascar. It is also a significant weed in northern Australia, sometimes regarded as the worst weed in all of Australia. It has also been introduced to most other tropical and subtropical regions by man, because of its attractive flowers and the fact that its latex contains commercial quality rubber. It is now naturalised in the Caribbean, East Africa, Mauritius, India, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Latin America, the southern United States, Fiji and New Caledonia. It is very similar to the purple rubber vine, which is also native to Madagascar.
Didiereaceae is a family of flowering plants found in continental Africa and Madagascar. It contains 20 species classified in three subfamilies and six genera. Species of the family are succulent plants, growing in sub-arid to arid habitats. Several are known as ornamental plants in specialist succulent collections. The subfamily Didiereoideae is endemic to the southwest of Madagascar, where the species are characteristic elements of the spiny thickets.
Aloidendron dichotomum, formerly Aloe dichotoma, the quiver tree or kokerboom, is a tall, branching species of succulent plant, indigenous to Southern Africa, specifically in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, and parts of Southern Namibia.
Vachellia erioloba, the camel thorn, also known as the giraffe thorn, mokala tree, or Kameeldoring in Afrikaans, still more commonly known as Acacia erioloba, is a tree of southern Africa in the family Fabaceae. Its preferred habitat is the deep dry sandy soils in parts of South Africa, Botswana, the western areas of Zimbabwe and Namibia. It is also native to Angola, south-west Mozambique, Zambia and Eswatini. The tree was first described by Ernst Heinrich Friedrich Meyer and Johann Franz Drège in 1836. The camel thorn is a protected tree in South Africa.
Neltuma glandulosa, formerly Prosopis glandulosa, commonly known as honey mesquite, is a species of small to medium-sized, thorny shrub or tree in the legume family (Fabaceae).
Portulacaria is a genus of succulent plant, classified in its own subfamily Portulacarioideae in the family Didiereaceae. It is indigenous to southern Africa.
Pachypodium namaquanum, also known as halfmens or elephants trunk, is a succulent plant of Southern Africa. The genus name Pachypodium is from the Greek for 'thick foot', an allusion to its swollen base, while the species name namaquanum is a reference to Namaqualand.
Aloidendron pillansii, formerly Aloe pillansii, the giant quiver tree or bastard quiver tree, is a large, branching species of succulent plant indigenous to southern Africa. It is regarded as critically endangered.
The Albany thickets is an ecoregion of dense woodland in southern South Africa, which is concentrated around the Albany region of the Eastern Cape.
Portulacaria afra is a small-leaved succulent plant found in South Africa. These succulents commonly have a reddish stem and green leaves, but a variegated cultivar is often seen in cultivation. They are simple to care for and make easy houseplants for a sunny location. In frost-free regions they may be used in outdoor landscaping.
Acacia ausfeldii, commonly known as Ausfeld's wattle or whipstick cinnamon wattle, is a shrub species that is endemic to south-eastern Australia. It grows to between 1 and 4 metres high and has phyllodes that are 2 to 7 cm long and 2 to 6 mm wide. The yellow globular flowerheads appear in groups of two or three in the axils of the phyllodes in August to October, followed by straight seed pods which are 4 to 9 cm long and 2 to 4 mm wide.
Hydnora triceps is a holoparasitic flowering plant native to Africa that grows on the roots of Euphorbia dregeana. Completely lacking in chlorophyll, it depends on its host for water and nutrients. The plant structure is composed of only specialized stems, buds, and haustoria, lacking any leaf-like structures entirely. It spends its life underground and only emerges to flower.
Westringia crassifolia, commonly known as whipstick westringia, is a flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae and is endemic to Victoria, Australia. It is a rare shrub with narrow leaves and lavender-purple or pink flowers in spring.
Portulacaria namaquensis, synonym Ceraria namaquensis, with the common names Namaqua porkbush and Namaqua portulacaria, is a species of succulent shrub, native to the border between the Cape Provinces of South Africa and Namibia.
Portulacaria pygmaea, also known as the pygmy porkbush, is a small-leaved dwarf succulent plant found on the border between Namibia and the Cape Provinces of South Africa.
Portulacaria carrissoana is a shrubby succulent plant found on the border between Namibia and Angola.
Portulacaria fruticulosa is a succulent plant found in southwestern Namibia and the northwestern Cape Provinces of South Africa.
Portulacaria longipedunculata is a small-leaved succulent plant found in the far north of Namibia and into southern Angola.