Publication: Sukkulenten [H. Jacobsen] 148-150, 1933
Description
Lithops pseudotruncatella var. mundtii is a beautiful form of Lithops pseudotruncatella distinguished by very large brown to yellowish brown, glossy bodies. (Cole field numbers 99 et 100). However the distinguishing characteristics of Lithops pseudotruncatella var. mundtii, appear to fall within the natural variation of Lithops pseudotruncatella and it should be synonymized with the latter, but it still has a value for a collector because they identify plants with particular characters.
Derivation of specific name: Named after the Farmer Mundt in South Africa.
Bodies (paired leaves): Mostly one or two(occasionally more especially in cultivation), truncate, quite flat, round-elliptic or reniform, to 30 mm high, 30-40 mm broad and 30 mm thick. The uniform rich, warm brown, yellowish brown or grey-brown colour of the face is also very characteristic of this plant, and is dotted and lined with dull greenish-brown to red-brown tree-shaped drawing. Sides are of unequal size.
Flowers: Yellow or orange, petals edges often tipped with red.
Origin and Habitat
North East of Windhoek, Namibia.
Cultivation and Propagation
They need an open mineral, fast draining mix and the maximum amount of light you are able to give them. The basic cultivation routine is: Stop watering after flowering. Start watering after the old leaves completely dry. (Usually late March or Early April) Water freely during the growing season, soak the compost fully but allow it to dry out between waterings, no water when cold. Some growers fertilize frequently, some hardly ever. Keep them dry during the winter. Nearly all problems occur as a result of overwatering and poor ventilation especially when weather conditions are dull and cool or very humid. This plant is best for a well lit area (Bright shade to full sun). But don’t be afraid even the best growers have plants that mysteriously dry up, or leave during the night.
Remarks: After flowering in the autumn and extending through winter season the plant doesn’t need watering, but they will still be growing, the new bodies will be increasing in size extracting water from the outer succulent leaves, allowing them to shrivel away. In fact the plant in this time extracts water and nutrient stored in the outer succulent leaves, allowing them to dehydrate relocating the water to the rest of the plant and to the new leaves that form during this period until the old leaves are reduced to nothing more than “thin papery shells”.
Bibliography
Major references and further lectures
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Steven A. Hammer “Lithops: Treasures of the Veld ; Observations on the Genus Lithops N.E.Br” British Cactus and Succulent Society, 1999
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Mededeling 1971
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Alfred Byrd Graf “Exotica, series 4 international: pictorial cyclopedia of exotic plants from tropical and near-tropic regions” Roehrs Co. Publishers, 1985
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“Supplement to Hortus, for the Five Current Years Including 1930” Macmillan, 1935
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Margaret J. Martin, Peter Richard Chapman “Succulents and their cultivation” Scribner, 1978
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L.H. Bailey “Manual of Cultivated Plants” 1963