Conophytum bilobum subs. gracilistylum

Publication: Gen. Conophytum 242, without basionym ref. 1993

Description

Conophytum bilobum subsp. gracilistylum (Conophytum gracilistylum) is the southernmost bilobe colony known, with unusual pale pink flowers. It is reasonably small and has neat, glossy, very slender, long-lobed, pale green bodies with a fine spotting. This subspecies will flower for several weeks if amply supplied. Seedlings cluster rapidly; the primary body often divides into three.

Habit: Robust caespitose (groundcover) plant, stemless or with short stems with time.

Bodies (paired leaves): Very slender 5-7 cm tall, with leaf-tips (lobes) free more than 10 mm long. Epidermis, glossy pale green, always smooth, finely maculate, non-papillate, often reddening if the plant has received too much light or too little water.

Flowers: Diurnal, slender and rarely wide-spreading, up to 3 cm long, scentless, pale pink (nearwhite) to rose-pink, never magenta.

Blooming season: Flowering in early autumn.

Origin and Habitat

Conophytum bilobum has a very wide distribution, with subsp. gracilistylum as its most southern outpost, northwest of Bitterfontein, West Cape Province, South Africa

Cultivation and Propagation

Conophytum bilobum subs. gracilistylum is a “winter” grower which is most active from late winter until later spring and heading for summer dormancy, but in favourable growing conditions it keeps going over the summer too and doesn’t need particular care. All the forms of Conophytum bilobum are easy to grow.

Soil: Requires good drainage as it it is prone to root rot. It can grows outdoor in sunny, dry, rock crevices (protection against winter wet is required) It can also be cultivated in alpine house, in poor, drained soil.

Watering: It requires little water; otherwise its epidermis breaks (resulting in unsightly scars). Water minimally in summer, (only when the plant starts shrivelling), but it will generally grow even in summer if given water. Water regularly in winter after the previous year’s leaves have dried up. Requires good drainage.

Fertilization: Feed it once during the growing season with a fertilizer specifically formulated for cactus succulents (poor in nitrogen), including all micro nutrients and trace elements diluted to ½ the strength recommended on the label. It thrives in poor soils and need a limited supplies of fertilizer to avoid the plants developing excess vegetation, which is easily attacked by fungal diseases.

Exposure: Keep cool and shaded in summer, it needs full sun or light shade.

Temperature: Hardy to -2°C. Ensure a very good ventilation.

Repotting: Avoid to repot frequently. This plant may stay in the same pot for many years.

Uses: Container, rock garden.

Pests and diseases: It is vulnerable to mealybugs and rarely scale.

Propagation: It can be reproduced both by cuttings and seeds. Take the cutting from a grown-up mother plant. Each cutting must contain one or more heads along with a fraction of root. It is easily propagated by seed. The small seeds can be sown in pots of fine, well-drained sand, any time during the spring and summer months when temperatures are warm. Cover the seeds with a very fine layer of grit and water from below with a fungicide to prevent damping off. For the first 3-4 days cover the pots with a sheet of glass/clear perspex to keep the humidity levels high. Remove the glass and replace it with light shadecloth and mist once or twice a day for the next two weeks after which most seeds should have germinated. From then on mistings can be reduced to every second and then every third day as the little plants grow.

Bibliography

Major references and further lectures

Burgoyne, P.M. 2006. Conophytum bilobum (Marloth) N.E.Br. subsp. gracilistylum (L.Bolus) S.A.Hammer. National Assessment: “Red List of South African Plants” version 2013.1. Accessed on 2014/01/27
Gordon D. Rowley “The illustrated encyclopedia of succulents” Crown Publishers, 01/Aug/1978
James Cullen, Sabina G. Knees, H. Suzanne Cubey “The European Garden Flora Flowering Plants: A Manual for the Identification of Plants Cultivated in Europe, Both Out-of-Doors” Cambridge University Press, 11/Aug./2011
Hermann Jacobsen “Lexicon of Succulent Plants” Littlehampton Book Services Ltd. 1974
Hammer, S. 1993. “The Genus Conophytum - A Conograph.” Succulent Plant Publications, Pretoria.
Hammer, S. 2002. “Dumpling and His Wife: New Views of the Genus Conophytum.” East Anglia Engraving Creative Colour Ltd, Norwich, England.
Ernst Van Jaarsveld, Ben-Erik Van Wyk, Gideon Smith “Succulents of South Africa: A Guide to the Regional Diversity” Tafelberg Publishers, Limited, 01/lug/2000
Heidrun E.K. Hartmann “Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants: Aizoaceae A-E” Springer, 2002
Werner Rauh “The Wonderful World of Succulents: Cultivation and Description of Selected Succulent Plants Other Than Cacti” Smithsonian Institution Press, 1984

From llifle page Conophytum chauviniae

Description

Conophytum chauviniae is a dwarf rock-like perennial leaf-succulent, often very small, forming fairly large mats or domes of small greyish-green bodies with nice pink or purple blooms.

Bodies (Paired leaves): Cuneate, bilobed, up to 35 mm long, 15 mm tall, pale green to bluish with red or purple lines, papillate, often transparent near fissure. The leaf-tips (lobes) are free and triangular in shape and keeled sometime with broad, arrowhead-shaped, deep red markings.

Flowers: Solitary with a prominent perianth tube, petals magenta.

Fruit: 4-chambered.

Origin and Habitat

Namaqualand, Western Cape, South Africa.

Habitat: It grows in crevices on granite shelves often under shrubs.

Cultivation and Propagation

It is a “winter” grower which is most active from late winter until later spring and heading for summer dormancy, but in favourable growing conditions it keeps going over the summer too and doesn’t need particular care. All the forms of Conophytum chauviniae have the advantage of ease of growth.