''Acrodon'' is a genus of ice plants from

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 coun ...

. It comprises 8 species, mostly endangered and all restricted to the southern Cape regions of the

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 202 ...

and

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 ...

Provinces,

Description

Species of ''Acrodon'' form dense, low mats or tufts of growth, and their leaves are triangular in cross-section. Another distinctive feature is that the leaves and flowers have a few tiny teeth along the ends of their margins and keels. The white or pink flowers often have striped petals. The fruits are solid and persistent, with five deep locules.

Species

*'' Acrodon bellidiflorus'' (L.) N.E.Br. A common

Renosterveld Renosterveld is a term used for one of the major plant communities and vegetation types of the Cape Floristic Region (Cape Floral Kingdom) which is located in southwestern and southeastern South Africa, in southernmost Africa. It is an ecoregion ...

species that extends from

Hermanus Hermanus (originally called ''Hermanuspietersfontein'', but shortened in 1902 as the name was too long for the postal service

Oudtshoorn Oudtshoorn (, ), the "ostrich capital of the world", is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, located between the Swartberg mountains to the north and the Outeniqua Mountains to the south. Two ostrich-feather booms, during 1865–1 ...

. *'' Acrodon deminutus'' Klak. A rarer species restricted to quartz-fields in the Eastern Rûens Shale Renosterveld and Potberg Ferricrete Fynbos vegetation types. *'' Acrodon duplessiae'' (Bolus) Glen *'' Acrodon leptophyllus'' (Bolus) Glen *'' Acrodon parvifolius'' R.du Plessis. An endangered species restricted to quartz and silcrete patches near to the coast, in the Botrivier area. *'' Acrodon purpureostylus'' (L.Bolus) Burgoyne. An endangered species restricted to gravelly, loamy shales in the greater Breede river valley, from Robertson down to as far as the Potberg. *'' Acrodon quarcicola'' H.E.K.Hartmann. An endangered species from exposed quartzitic slopes in the Agulhas region. *'' Acrodon subulatus'' (Mill.) N.E.Br. An endangered species restricted to shale

s in the far western Overberg.''Acrodon subulatus'' - SANBI
/ref>

Relatives

It is frequently confused with related genera that grow in the same region, such as ''

Brianhuntleya ''Brianhuntleya'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Aizoaceae The Aizoaceae, or fig-marigold family, is a large family of dicotyledonous flowering plants containing 135 genera and about 1800 species. They are commonly know ...

'' or ''

Cerochlamys Cerochlamys is a genus of plants in the family Aizoaceae.the Plant List "Cerochlamys" (2010). Version 1. Published on the Internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl/search?q=cerochlamys Accessed 22 July They are all succulent plant In botany ...

''.

References

Flora of the Cape Provinces Aizoaceae genera Taxa named by N. E. Brown {{Aizoaceae-stub