Lithops

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Lithops

Lithops julii. The structures emerging
between the leaves are flower buds

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Aizoaceae
Genus:	Lithops N.E.Br.

Species

See text.

Lithops hookeri. Four new leaves are emerging between the two old ones, indicating that the plant is about to divide into two.

Lithops sp. Blooms emerge between the leaves in autumn.

Lithops sp. The flowers are large enough to obscure the leaves. They open in the afternoon and close by evening. The plant requires full sunshine in order for the blooms to open fully.

Large stand of Lithops salicola

Lithops is a genus of succulent plants native to Africa, mainly in Namibia and South Africa. It is especially characteristic of the Karoo region at Africa's southern tip. "Lithos" means "stone" and "opsis" means "face" in Ancient Greek; therefore, "Lithops" means "stone-face". This is a very good description of these plants, which avoid being eaten by blending in with surrounding pebbles (camouflage). They are often known as pebble plants or living stones. First description of lithops was made by William John Burchell, explorer of South Africa, botanist and artist, who in 1811 accidentally found a specimen when picking up from the ground a "colorful pebble".^[1]

Individual plants usually have two bulbous, almost fused leaves opposite to each other and hardly any stem. The slit between the leaves contains the meristem and produces flowers and new leaves. Old leaves die after the new pair has emerged. The leaves of the Lithops are transparent. These leaves, or “windows” contain calcium oxalate crystals that diffuse onto the area that is being photosynthesized in the Lithop. This helps the plant absorb lots of sunlight even in minimum exposure. The leaves of the Lithops are considered to be one of the leading plants with the most developed "window" leaves. Occasionally two new pairs emerge and plants can eventually form large clumps. The plant is almost entirely buried in soil, only exposing the flat upper surfaces of leaves. This is an adaptation to the dry, hot environment.

Lithops are also gaining popularity as a house plant. Seeds and plants are widely available in shops and over the Internet. They are relatively easy to grow, provided that they are not watered too generously and abundant light and heat are provided. In winter they should remain completely dry and temperature should be cooler. During the hot season, they like misting in the morning, but care must be taken lest they become too wet, or water droplets (which would serve as a burning-glass in direct sunlight) do not evaporate quickly enough.

For import plants (which are rare but sometimes can be acquired on specialist sales), it must be remembered that the flowering and growing season is in the Northern Hemisphere winter. Acquiring them in autumn and simply prolonging the resting period they are then in, maybe even not potting them, and providing them with fresh substrate in the spring as days become longer and sunnier is the easiest way to switch their circannual rhythm.

Lithops thrive best in coarse, sandy substrate. They love rather shallow but comparatively wide pots, where the substrate does not become wet and clammy in the deep part easily; under such conditions, they will over the years grow to form large clumps. Propagation is not too easy for hobbyists; seeds are small and take a long time to grow, while cuttings (of plants that bifurcate) are very delicate and easily rot.

1 Species
2 External links
3 Literature
4 References

[edit] Species

Many of the species listed have a large number of varieties and regional forms. These should not be passed on without giving location information.

Specific epithet	Meaning
amicorum	of the friend(s)
aucampiae	named after Juanita Aucamp
bromfieldii	named after H. Bromfield
coleorum	named after Desmond & Naureen Cole
comptonii	named after Prof. Harold Compton
dinteri	named after Moritz Kurt Dinter
divergens	divergent lobes
dorotheae	named after Dorothea Huyssteen
francisci	named after Frantz de Laet
fulviceps (aka lydiae)	tawny head
gesineae	named after Gesine de Boer
geyeri	named after Dr. Albertus Geyer
gracilidelineata	thin lined
hallii (aka salicola var. reticulata)	named after Harry Hall
helmutii	named after Helmut Meyer
hermetica	named after the location 'hermetically sealed', Sperrgebiet
herrei	named after Adolar 'Hans' Herre
hookeri (aka dabneri, marginata, turbiniformis var. lutea)	named after Sir Joseph Hooker
julii (aka fulleri)	named after Dr. Julius Derenberg
karasmontana	named after the Karas Mountains
lesliei	named after T. N. Leslie
marmorata (aka diutina, framesii, umdausensis)	marbled
meyeri	named after Rev. Gottlieb Meyer
naureeniae	named after Naureen Cole
olivacea	olive-green color
optica (aka rubra)	eye-like
otzeniana	named after M. Otzen
pseudotruncatella	had been confused with Conophytum truncatum (aka Mesembryanthemum truncatellum)
ruschiorum	named after Rusch family
salicola	salt-dweller
schwantesii	named after Gustav Schwantes
terricolor (aka localis var. terricolor)	colored as earth
vallis-mariae	named after the location Mariental (latinised)
verruculosa	warty
villetii (aka deboeri)	named after Dr. C. T. Villet
viridis	green
werneri	named after Werner Triebner

[edit] External links

[edit] Literature

Cole, Desmond; Cole, Naureen (2005). Lithops—Flowering Stones. Cactus & Co. ISBN 88-900511-7-5.
Hammer, Stiven. Lithops: Treasures of the Veld. BCCS.
Schwantes, Gustav (1957). Flowering Stones and Mid-day Flowers. London: Ernst Benn.