| Conophytum burgeri | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Conophytum burgeri in cultivation | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Aizoaceae |
| Genus: | Conophytum |
| Species: | C. burgeri |
| Binomial name | |
| Conophytum burgeri | |
Conophytum burgeri ("Burger's onion") is a small, endangered, South African species of succulent plant, of the genus Conophytum .
An onion-shaped, single-bodied, succulent plant, it is possibly the most unusual of all the species of the genus Conophytum . It has a tiny fissure at the top of its body. Its epidermis is smooth, shiny and translucent, and its colour is light green to purple. It is slow-growing and sometimes subdivides through a gradual process over several years, to form two or even three heads. It varies in size and can reach the size of a small onion.
Unlike most other Conophytums, it grows in a region of spring and early summer rainfall. However its habitat is extremely arid, and the plant may rely mainly on the copious winter fogs and dew that condenses on the rocks where it grows. When dormant, its outer covering dries into a thin, white, persistent leaf-sheath.
It produces a purple flower, in early autumn (April–May in South Africa), with the aroma of honey. The flowers open briefly in the late afternoon, has over 5 sepals and a long stigma (over 10 mm).
Some of its closest relatives such as Conophytum ratum , Conophytum achabense , Conophytum hammeri and Conophytum subterraneum do have a similar cone shape. Conophytum burgeri can be distinguished from these by its long stigma (over 10 mm) and by its epidermis becoming purple to red in direct sunlight. (Conophytum subterraneum, for example, has a stigma under 7 mm long, and remains a green colour). Conophytum ratum has a larger fissure (3–4 mm) that is embedded or sunken in the body. Conophytum achabense has only 4 sepals, and Conophytum hammeri has an obscure translucent window at its apex.
This species is endemic to Bushmanland in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa, where it is known from the mines of the Aggeneys valley (between Sprinbok and Pofadder).
Here it grows on high, open, raised, exposed flats, in rocky clay soil, which is strewn with white quartz pebbles that keep the soil relatively cool.
Aggeneys was the farm of the Burger family, and it was named after the farmer Willem Burger, who noticed the unusual plant and contacted the botanist H.C. Kennedy. [2]
The desert habitat of this species receives its sparse rainfall mainly in spring and early summer, with very little rainfall in the winter. The plants may receive water from dew or condensation in the winter, because in cultivation Conophytum burgeri can be treated as a winter-rainfall species, like most other Conophytum species. All Conophytums have an annual growing period when they receive some water, and a dry dormancy period. In their growing period the soil must always dry out completely between waterings. In their dormancy they can be left dry and only given water if they visibly start to shrivel. Alternatively, Conophytum burgeri can be given water occasionally throughout the year, at intervals of a week or two. It shrivels when it needs more water; and it splits open when it receives too much. Seeds can be sown in early summer, and given light watering regularly for a year, before the seedlings begin their annual dormancy periods.
They require direct and plentiful sunlight. It can be given slight shelter at the peak of the hottest summer days. A cooler temperature at night and good ventilation is also beneficial for the plants. [3]
Pachypodium is a genus of succulent spine-bearing trees and shrubs, native to Madagascar and Africa. It belongs to the family Apocynaceae.
Pachypodiumhabitats consist of isolated, specialized, micro–environmental niches, generally xeric, rocky, frost-free areas within parts of western Madagascar and southern Africa. Pachypodium species are often indifferent to the regional ecological, biotic zone of vegetation, a fact which explains some of Pachypodium morphology and architecture. The large scale vegetation zones are in some cases irrelevant to the micro-environments of Pachypodium, in the sense that the xeric niches may be embedded in larger mesic biomes.
Gonialoe variegata, also known as tiger aloe and partridge-breasted aloe, is a species of flowering plant in the family Asphodelaceae. It is an evergreen succulent perennial indigenous to South Africa and Namibia. It is common in cultivation.
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, waterblasies, sphaeroids, conos, cone plants, dumplings, or button plants.
Albuca bracteata, is known by the common names pregnant onion, false sea onion, and sea-onion. It is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the family Asparagaceae. Its flowering stems can reach a height of 90 cm and can carry up to 100 greenish white flowers.
In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word succulent comes from the Latin word sucus, meaning "juice" or "sap".
Namaqua National Park is a South African national park situated approximately 495 km north of Cape Town and 22 km northwest of Kamieskroon. It has an area of more than 1300 km2. The park is part of Namaqualand, an area covering 55,000 km2 located within the semi-desert Succulent Karoo biome. This biome is a biodiversity hotspot with the largest concentration of succulent plants in the world. The park also has an arid environment with succulent plants. The park was created to protect its flowers. During the spring, wildflowers bloom there in a spectacular fashion. The park's main tourist attraction is this abundant spring bloom of brightly coloured wildflowers.
Aggeneys is a mining town established in 1976 on a farm of that name, situated between Pofadder and Springbok in the Northern Cape, South Africa.
Bowiea is a genus of bulbous, perennial, succulent plants which thrive in dry and desert regions of eastern and southern Africa. It is native to a region stretching from Kenya to Cape Province. The genus contains a single species, Bowiea volubilis.
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.
Muiria hortenseae ("mouse-head") is a rare dwarf species of succulent plant of the family Aizoaceae, indigenous to a very small area in the Little Karoo, Western Cape, South Africa. It is the only species in the monophyletic genus Muiria.
Robertson Karoo is a semi-arid vegetation type, restricted to sections of the Breede River Valley, Western Cape Province, South Africa. It is a subtype of Succulent Karoo and is characterised by the dominance of succulent plant species, and by several endemic plants and animals.
Conophytum calculus is a small South African species of succulent plant in the family Aizoaceae.
Conophytum breve is a small South African species of succulent plant of the genus Conophytum.
Conophytum flavum, the yellow cone plant, is a small South African species of succulent flowering plant of the family Aizoaceae.
Conophytum ficiforme is a small South African species of succulent plant of the genus Conophytum.
Conophytum truncatum is a small South African species of succulent plant of the genus Conophytum.
Conophytum piluliforme is a small South African species of succulent plant of the genus Conophytum.
Conophytum minimum is a small South African species of succulent plant of the genus Conophytum.
Conophytum hammeri is a small, endangered, South African species of succulent plant, of the genus Conophytum.
