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Astroloba Spiralis
''Astroloba spiralis'' is a small succulent plant of the Astroloba genus, endemic to the southern Karoo regions of the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces, South Africa. Description ''Astroloba spiralis'' is a compact ''Astroloba'' species, with upright, erect stems that are densely covered in pointed succulent leaves. Stems are roughly 15 cm in diameter, and reach a height of 200mm. The leaves are blue-green to grey in colour, they grow in 5 rows that sometimes form a gentle spiral. The leaves also have smooth surfaces (unlike the tubercled leaves of '' Astroloba bullulata'' and ''Astroloba corrugata''). Each leaf typically has an oblique keel near the point. The flowers appear in autumn (December to May). This species is easily confused with its close relative, the rare '' Astroloba herrei''. Both plants also have inflated, puffed up flowers (perianths). However the flowers of ''Astroloba spiralis'' are wrinkled (transversely rugose), and not smooth like those of ''herr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Succulent Plant
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". Succulent plants may store water in various structures, such as leaf, leaves and Plant stem, stems. The water content of some succulent organs can get up to 90–95%, such as ''Glottiphyllum semicyllindricum'' and ''Mesembryanthemum barkleyii''. Some definitions also include roots, thus geophytes that survive unfavorable periods by dying back to underground storage organs may be regarded as succulents. The habitats of these water-preserving plants are often in areas with high temperatures and low rainfall, such as deserts, but succulents may be found even in Alpine climate, alpine ecosystems growing in rocky soil. Succulents are characterized by their ability to thrive on limited water sources, such as mist and dew, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astroloba
''Astroloba'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae, subfamily Asphodeloideae,Stevens, P.F. (2001 onwards)"Asphodeloideae" ''Angiosperm Phylogeny Website'', retrieved 2016-06-10 native to the Cape Province of South Africa. Naming The name of the genus is derived from the Greek words ''astros'', star, and ''lobos'', lobe, and refers to the starlike shape of the petals, which appear at the end of the tube-like flowers. Description They are very closely related to the genus ''Haworthia'', but are distinguished by their flowers being regular and not double-tipped. The flowers are small and white, and appear clustered on slender racemes., p. 17 They bear very regular, sharp, triangular, succulent leaves along their symmetrical columnar stems. The leaves are in a number of distinctive spiral arrangements. They are slow growing, multi-stemmed, and their longer stems tend to sprawl in their rocky natural habitat. Within the genus, various subgroupings can be r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Karoo
The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its extent is also not precisely defined. The Karoo is partly defined by its topography, geology and climate, and above all, its low rainfall, arid air, cloudless skies, and extremes of heat and cold.Potgieter, D.J. & du Plessis, T.C. (1972) ''Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa''. Vol. 6. pp. 306–307. Nasou, Cape Town.''Reader’s Digest Illustrated Guide to Southern Africa''. (5th Ed. 1993). pp. 78–89. Reader’s Digest Association of South Africa Pty. Ltd., Cape Town. The Karoo also hosted a well-preserved ecosystem hundreds of million years ago which is now represented by many fossils. The ǃ’Aukarob formed an almost impenetrable barrier to the interior from Cape Town, and the early adventurers, explorers, hunters, and travelers o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020. About two-thirds of these inhabitants live in the metropolitan area of Cape Town, which is also the provincial capital. The Western Cape was created in 1994 from part of the former Cape Province. The two largest cities are Cape Town and George. Geography The Western Cape Province is roughly L-shaped, extending north and east from the Cape of Good Hope, in the southwestern corner of South Africa. It stretches about northwards along the Atlantic coast and about eastwards along the South African south coast (Southern Indian Ocean). It is bordered on the north by the Northern Cape and on the east by the Eastern Cape. The total land area of the province is , about 10.6% of the country's total. It is roughly the size of England or the S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eastern Cape
The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in 1994 out of the Xhosa homelands or bantustans of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province. The central and eastern part of the province is the traditional home of the indigenous Xhosa people. In 1820 this area which was known as the Xhosa Kingdom began to be settled by Europeans who originally came from England and some from Scotland and Ireland. Since South Africa's early years, many Xhosas believed in Africanism and figures such as Walter Rubusana believed that the rights of Xhosa people and Africans in general, could not be protected unless Africans mobilized and worked together. As a result, the Eastern Cape is home to many anti-apartheid leaders such as Robert Sobukwe, Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandel ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini. It also completely enclaves the country Lesotho. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World, and the second-most populous country located entirely south of the equator, after Tanzania. South Africa is a biodiversity hotspot, with unique biomes, plant and animal life. With over 60 million people, the country is the world's 24th-most populous nation and covers an area of . South Africa has three capital cities, with the executive, judicial and legislative branches of government based in Pretoria, Bloemfontein, and Cape Town respectively. The largest city is Johannesburg. About 80% of the population are Black South Afri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astroloba Bullulata
''Astroloba bullulata'' is a small succulent plant of the Astroloba genus, endemic to mountainous areas of the southern Cape, South Africa. Description ''Astroloba bullulata'' is a small, compact species of ''Astroloba'', that reaches a height of about 30 cm. It has a dark green to deep olive-red colour. The matt leaves are covered with distinctive black tubercles (''"bullulata"'') that mostly occur on the outer side of the fat, shiny-margined leaves. The dense and compact leaves form a faint spiral in their growth, with each leave turned slightly inward and twisted towards the direction of the spiral. Each leaf also has a marginated keel, unlike most other ''Astroloba'' species. The inflorescence is upright and carries sparse brownish-green flowers with yellow tepals (Flowers appear in the dry summer, November to January). Related species ''Astroloba bullulata'' is closely related to the type species of the genus, '' Astroloba pentagona''. Both species have keeled-mar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astroloba Corrugata
''Astroloba corrugata'' is a small succulent plant of the Astroloba genus, endemic to the Little Karoo and the far south of the Western Cape, South Africa. Naming This plant has been known by several names in its history. It was named ''"Astroloba rugosa"'' (Roberts Reinecke), ''"Astroloba aspera"'', and ''"Astroloba muricata"'', before it gained its current name. Description ''Astroloba corrugata'' is a compact ''Astroloba'' species, with slender, sprawling stems (up to 20 cm long), densely covered in spirally arranged pointed leaves. The leaves point outwards, and have slight non-marginated keels. They are green, but become reddish if exposed to direct sun. The outer side of the leaves are covered with distinctive tiny speckled "asperous" tubercles which (unlike '' Astroloba bullulata'') are the same colour as the leaf. These tubercles sometimes tend to cluster in longitudinal lines. These smaller, more evenly distributed tubercles (sometimes in longitudinal rows on ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astroloba Herrei
''Astroloba herrei'' is a small succulent plant of the genus ''Astroloba'', restricted to the area around the Swartberg mountains, South Africa. It is listed as a Vulnerable species on the Red List of the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). Description ''Astroloba herrei'' is a compact ''Astroloba'' species, with stems growing up to 20 cm high, that are densely covered in pointed succulent leaves. Flowers appear from June to November. With its sharp, grey-green, keeled leaves, and its puffed up, inflated flowers, the species is easily mistaken for the closely related ''Astroloba spiralis'' species. However it is genetically distinct and can always be distinguished by its flowers and its phyllotaxis. Both ''spiralis'' and ''herrei'' have puffed up, inflated flowers, but those of ''herrei'' are smooth (unlike ''spiralis'', which has a wrinkled, transversely rugose, perianth). Other less reliable ways of identifying ''herrei'' are the fine, dark, longit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Perianth
The perianth (perigonium, perigon or perigone in monocots) is the non-reproductive part of the flower, and structure that forms an envelope surrounding the sexual organs, consisting of the calyx (sepals) and the corolla (petals) or tepals when called a perigone. The term ''perianth'' is derived from Greek περί (, "around") and άνθος (, "flower"), while ''perigonium'' is derived from περί () and γόνος (, "seed, sex organs"). In the mosses and liverworts (Marchantiophyta), the perianth is the sterile tubelike tissue that surrounds the female reproductive structure (or developing sporophyte). Flowering plants In flowering plants, the perianth may be described as being either dichlamydeous/heterochlamydeous in which the calyx and corolla are clearly separate, or homochlamydeous, in which they are indistinguishable (and the sepals and petals are collectively referred to as tepals). When the perianth is in two whorls, it is described as biseriate. While the c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Karoo
The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its extent is also not precisely defined. The Karoo is partly defined by its topography, geology and climate, and above all, its low rainfall, arid air, cloudless skies, and extremes of heat and cold.Potgieter, D.J. & du Plessis, T.C. (1972) ''Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa''. Vol. 6. pp. 306–307. Nasou, Cape Town.''Reader’s Digest Illustrated Guide to Southern Africa''. (5th Ed. 1993). pp. 78–89. Reader’s Digest Association of South Africa Pty. Ltd., Cape Town. The Karoo also hosted a well-preserved ecosystem hundreds of million years ago which is now represented by many fossils. The ǃ’Aukarob formed an almost impenetrable barrier to the interior from Cape Town, and the early adventurers, explorers, hunters, and travelers o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Astroloba Spirella
''Astroloba spirella'' (="''Astroloba smutsiana''" nom. nud.) is a small succulent plant of the genus ''Astroloba'', restricted to an area of the western section of the Little Karoo, South Africa. Description In appearance it is superficially very similar to ''Astroloba spiralis'', with its sharp, spirally-arranged leaves. However the perianth of ''spiralis'' is both inflated and strongly transversely rugose. ''A. spirella'' is also a smaller plant and has leaves that are sometimes striped with longitudinal streaks near the tips. It can be distinguished from its northern relative, '' Astroloba pentagona'', by its sharply pointed leaves, with properly marginate apices and absence of tubercles or striation. The leaves get a reddish-brown colour in the sun. The flowers appear from January to April, at the end of the dry summer. Distribution It occurs in rocky ridges of shale in the Little Karoo - between Montagu in the west, Barrydale, and Ladismith in the east (where it gradu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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