''Glottiphyllum longum'' is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

succulent 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'', meani ...

plant in the family

Aizoaceae The Aizoaceae, or fig-marigold family, is a large family of dicotyledonous flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is d ...

, native to 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 2020 ...

and Eastern Cape Provinces,

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 countri ...

. It is the most widespread ''

Glottiphyllum ''Glottiphyllum'' is a genus of about 57 species of succulent subtropical plants of the family Aizoaceae. It is closely related to the ''Gibbaeum'' and '' Faucaria'' genera. The name comes from ancient Greek γλωττίς ''glottis'' "tongue" an ...

'' species, and the most common one in cultivation.

Description

It can be distinguished from its relatives by the way that its flat, green, fleshy, tongue-shaped leaves are all born in two opposite rows (distichous), lying flat and mostly prostrate along the ground. The long leaves are distinctively strap-shaped, with rounded margins. Sometimes they are also mildly curved or upturned at the tips, but not hooked. The bladder cells at the leaf margins are oriented horizontally and not elongated. The fruits are born on long stalks. The seed capsules have 9 or more

locule A locule (plural locules) or loculus (plural loculi) (meaning "little place" in Latin) is a small cavity or compartment within an organ or part of an organism (animal, plant, or fungus). In angiosperms (flowering plants), the term ''locule'' usu ...

s and persist on the stem for many years. The seeds are very small and smoothed on the sides.

Distinction from ''Glottiphyllum depressum''

This species is sometimes confused with the similarly widespread '' Glottiphyllum depressum''. However the flowers and fruits of ''G.depressum'' do not have long stalks and are therefore held closely against the stem. Its seed capsule also has a very soft, spongy base, and the whole capsule degrades and falls away soon after releasing its seed. The top of the seed capsule has very thick, raised valves in a tall dome, which is surrounded by a low inconspicuous rim. In contrast, the flowers and fruits of ''G. longum'' are on long stalks, and remain on the plant for a long time. The leaves of ''G.longum'' are also often longer. ''Glottiphyllum depressum'' has more clearly hooked depressions on its leaves, which are also often slightly more erect. The cell walls of its leaves' bladders cells are undulated.

Distribution

This is the most widespread and common species in the entire genus ''

''. It occurs in shrubby thicket, on loamy-sandy soil, from near Ceres in the west, throughout the

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 ext ...

and

Overberg __NOTOC__ Overberg is a region in South Africa to the east of Cape Town beyond the Hottentots-Holland mountains. It lies along the Western Cape Province's south coast between the Cape Peninsula and the region known as the Garden Route in the e ...

regions, as far as the Albany region of the

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 ...

. Here, in the far eastern part of its range, it co-occurs with the species that it also most resembles, its close relative ''

Glottiphyllum grandiflorum ''Glottiphyllum'' is a genus of about 57 species of succulent subtropical plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animal ...

''.Heidrun E.K. Hartmann, Horst Gölling: ''A monograph on the genus Glottiphyllum (Mesembryanthema, Aizoaceae)''. In: Bradleya. Band 11, 1993, p.40

Synonyms

* ''Glottiphyllum cultratum'' (Salm-Dyck) N.E.Br. * ''Glottiphyllum davisii'' L.Bolus * ''Glottiphyllum erectum'' N.E.Br. * ''Glottiphyllum latum'' N.E.Br. * ''Glottiphyllum latum'' N.E.Br. var. ''cultratum'' (Salm-Dyck) N.E.Br. * ''Glottiphyllum longum'' (Haw.) N.E.Br. var. ''hamatum'' N.E.Br. * ''Glottiphyllum longum'' (Haw.) N.E.Br. var. ''heterophyllum'' (Haw.) G.D.Rowley * ''Glottiphyllum obliquum'' (Willd.) N.E.Br. * ''Glottiphyllum propinquum'' N.E.Br. * ''Glottiphyllum pustulatum'' (Haw.) N.E.Br. * ''Glottiphyllum uncatum'' (Haw.) N.E.Br. * ''Mesembryanthemum adscendens'' Haw. * ''Mesembryanthemum angustum'' Haw. var. ''heterophyllum'' Haw. * ''Mesembryanthemum cultratum'' Salm-Dyck * ''Mesembryanthemum latum'' Haw. * ''Mesembryanthemum linguiforme'' auct. * ''Mesembryanthemum linguiforme'' L. var. ''adscendens'' (Haw.) A.Berger * ''Mesembryanthemum linguiforme'' L. var. ''cultratum'' (Salm-Dyck) A.Berger * ''Mesembryanthemum linguiforme'' L. var. ''depressum'' (Haw.) A.Berger * ''Mesembryanthemum linguiforme'' L. var. ''longum'' (Haw.) A.Berger * ''Mesembryanthemum linguiforme'' L. var. ''obliquum'' (Willd.) A.Berger * ''Mesembryanthemum linguiforme'' L. var. ''pustulatum'' (Haw.) A.Berger * ''Mesembryanthemum linguiforme'' L. var. ''uncatum'' (Haw.) A.Berger * ''Mesembryanthemum longum'' Haw. * ''Mesembryanthemum longum' Haw. var. ''uncatum'' Haw. * ''Mesembryanthemum lucidum'' Haw. * ''Mesembryanthemum medium'' Haw. * ''Mesembryanthemum obliquum'' Willd. * ''Mesembryanthemum pustulatum'' Haw. * ''Mesembryanthemum pustulatum'' Haw. var. lividum Salm-Dyck * ''Mesembryanthemum uncatum'' (Haw.) Salm-Dyck

References

Aluka entry

Jstor entry
* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q22105696 longum Taxa named by Adrian Hardy Haworth