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November 6, 2008 : Conophytum maughanii
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Plant Family / Families: Aizoaceae
Scientific Name and Author: Conophytum maughanii N.E. Br.
Name Location: cultivated in Altadena, California, USA
My apologies for missing yesterday's entry -- my nap last night turned into a good night's rest -- but we'll make up for it by having an entry this Saturday. Ruth has put together today's entry:
UBC's Botany Photo of the Day would like to thank sky_view@Flickr for sharing today's awesome picture (original) via the BPotD Flickr Photo Pool.
The genus Conophytum is closely related to the living stones, or Lithops. Both genera are in the Aizoaceae. Like the living stones, species of Conophytum generally produce two above-ground plump succulent leaves. In the picture above, the Conophytum maughanii specimen is breaking dormancy, revealing new wrinkly crimson leaves. Last year's bloom is also present in this photo as the shriveled projection between the leaves. The center of the two leaves is where the meristem resides -- where new pairs of leaves will be produced irregularly. The leaves are often described as being "windowed", meaning they have leaves mostly buried underground and just a window (the leaf surface) is exposed for light harvesting. In time, they may form larger clumps of paired-leaved individuals, but often are simply a single pair of leaves just popping out of the rocky substrate where they dwell. Conophytum and Lithops species are native to Africa, and more specifically, Namibia and South Africa. They are gaining popularity as houseplants as they require very little water and a sunny window.
Posted by Daniel Mosquin at November 6, 2008 10:07 AM
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Comments
Posted by: Dr. Matt at November 6, 2008 11:18 AM
wow, but doesn't it look like two tiny testicles or brains wrapped up? Perfect for Halloween. . .
Posted by: heidi at November 6, 2008 12:00 PM
Thanks Matt, that'd be my fault. I revised Ruth's draft where she said “every once in a while”, and didn't know how to interpret that.
Posted by: Daniel Mosquin 
at November 6, 2008 12:17 PM
Woooh ya awesome write up. I'm pumped about some conophytum's. YAAAAH. Go RUthie woooh
Posted by: Ruthies fan club at November 6, 2008 12:20 PM
I was thinking a baboon's bottom...
It's a gorgeous picture!
Posted by: Bonnie at November 6, 2008 1:54 PM
Dude man we now have a vice president for ruth's fan club!!! woot. Good write up too =P
Posted by: Ruth's Fan Club at November 7, 2008 9:42 AM
Please share your comments about the photograph(s) and accompanying write-up. Telling a story about the subject of the photograph(s) is also much appreciated! If you have a gardening question, the best place to ask is on the UBC Botanical Garden Forums. Thank you!
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Botany Photo of the Day is a project of the UBC Botanical Garden and Centre for Plant Research, located in Vancouver, British Columbia Canada. UBC BGCPR is a department of the Faculty of Land and Food Systems within The University of British Columbia.
Great photo and writeup! One minor quibble: leaf production (and other facets of growth) are actually quite regular in conophytums. In most species, the plants break dormancy and flower in the autumn, remain active through the winter, develop the next seasons leaf pair in late winter, then enter dormancy in spring, with the new leaves inside of the dried remains of the old.