delosperma & aizoaceae

[TheOnionMan]

Very showy!  I could hazard a guess what one of the parents might be, and I have an idea what the other might be too.  I guess all will be revealed in due course

Actually, this is a new undescribed species, unless it's a natural hybrid.  I'll try and find out more detailed information.

[Great Moravian]

Delosperma dyeri var. laxum
http://www.plantzafrica.com/plantcd/plimagescd/delospermdyerlax.jpg
is fairly similar. And further forms occur on Sneeuberg.
Inform us which characters distinguish between the two.
The information by Panayoti Kelaidis might be interesting.
I dislike hybrids, perhaps it is not one.

[Great Moravian]

I'm pretty sure I've never seen either D. congestum or D. basuticum.  I don't think anyone anywhere has D. congestum, just somebody decided to slap the name on this plant.  Wasn't it Kelaidis and then the name stuck even when he said it wasn't D. congestum at all?

Correct about Delosperma congestum but not so certain about Delosperma basuticum. All miniature pink-purple flowered introductions are candidates.

[Great Moravian]

I added a key to my previous message on conditionally hardy yellow-flowered Delosperma.

[iann]

I dislike hybrids, perhaps it is not one.

It has classic mesemb pink/yellow cross flowers.  It is a hybrid, whether natural or cultivated I don't know.

[Great Moravian]

Nobody has replied my question whether plants called Delosperma karrooicum cultivated elsewhere are soft-stemmed or sturdy-stemmed.
Another question. Berger described Mesembryanthemum brunnthaleri, now Delosperma brunnthaleri, as follows.
Fruticosum erectum, circ. 30 - 40 cm altum; rami juventute viriduli
subcompressi, demum cinerascentes, internodiis 12 - 30 mm longis, ramulis  
axillaribus numerosis. Folia basi subdistincta, patentia, leviter recurvula,
subtriquetra, supra plana, dorso rotundata, superne carinata, acuta,
mucronata, 25 - 35 mm longa, medio 4 - 5 mm lata et 4 mm crassa, in ramulis
minora, mollia, viridia vel subglaucescentia laevia impunctata, ad angulos
basin versus pilis cartilagineis paucis ciliata. Flores in ramulis
lateralibus ternatis vel biternatis antemeridionales, 15 - 20 mm lati;
pedicelli centrales breves ebracteati, laterales medio bracteati, circ. 7 mm
longi; bracteae foliaceae. Calyx obconicus in pedicellum attenuatus, lobi 5
inaequales, 2 oppositi foliacei longiores,reliqui breviores dorso acute
mucronati margine membranaceo roseo. Petala subuniserialia lineari-spathulata
obtusa vel crenulata calycis lobos longiores vix vel paullo superantia,
interiora sensim minora staminoidea, laete et saturate roseo-violacea.
stamina collecta staminodiis aucta, filamenta pallide rosea nuda, antherae
parvae flavescentes. Ovarium supra conicum stylis 5 lanceolatis longe
acuminatis viridulis. Capsula parva, 5 mm diam., 5-loculare, grisea.
I wonder whether someody cultivates Delosperma brunnthaleri
being an upright bush 30 - 40 cm tall and having flowers 15 - 20 mm
across in lateral ternate or biternate dichasia.
The plant incorrectly designated as lectotype by Hartmann is different.
http://apps.kew.org/herbcat/getImage.do?imageBarcode=K000077170
Whereas Berger claimed Blüht im Herbst,
the lectotype flowered in July. Berger leaved La Mortola in 1914, Brown obtained the plant 1918, Berger
described it 1922.
The plant usually in cultivation is herbaceous, creeping and has large flowers.
It is certainly not Delosperma brunnthaleri. The plant photographed by Mark
http://www.srgc.org.uk/smf/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1874.0;attach=71904;image
is close to Delosperma ashtonii.

[Kovacs Pal]

Hello,
I would like to ask some help.
Can somebody tell me how I can distinguish D. ashtonii from D. sutherlandii?
(In the book "Das Sukkulenten lexikon/Hermann Jacobsen" the leaves of D. ashtonii is described 45 mm long, 2 mm wide and 4 mm thick. But the pictures and other describes which I found on the net say it is similar to D sutherlandii)

Thank in advance

Poul

[iann]

One thing to be aware of is that many Delospermas in cultivation and on the internet are wrongly named.  I wouldn't be surprised if many of the plants that people say look similar are actually the same!

D. ashtonii is like a smaller version D. sutherlandii in many ways and they are usually considered to be related.  Both have conspicuous long papillae looking like hairs, tuberous roots, and pink flowers with a pale eye.  Both have a sprawling growth habit and produce upright flowering shoots, but D. sutherlandii produces much taller flowers and has longer leaves, so the leaves of D. ashtonii tend to look fatter.

You could also examine the flowers very carefully.  Side by side you might notice that D. sutherlandii flowers are larger, but it is difficult to give an exact figure because a newly opened D. sutherlandii flower will still be much smaller than an old D. ashtonii flower.  It would be easier to compare ripe capsules which will have a much more consistent size.  D. sutherlandii can produce multiple flowers per stalk while D. ashtonii produces typically only 1-3.  D. sutherlandii flowers have white filamentous staminodes while D. ashtonii has pale pink staminodes although they may be very pale and white at the base.  This gives D. sutherlandii a better-defined central white eye.

[Kovacs Pal]

Dear Iann,

Thank you the answer.
 If my plants start to flower again I will load some pictures here.

Paul

[iann]

Some Delospermas are naturalising in my garden.  I think this is a hybrid of D. cooperi and something else.  Very vigorous, when it isn't growing in a crack in the pavement, but tends to flower itself to death.

[Panu]

Sold as 'Gold Nugget', but is not, if I understood correctly.

[Great Moravian]

Sold as 'Gold Nugget', but is not, if I understood correctly.

It is certainly the species to which 'Gold Nugget' belongs.  It is not clear whether 'Gold Nugget'
should be understood as a particular cultivar or a reference to the species as a whole.
There exist several slightly different introductions.

[Panu]

Thank you Great Moravian, I need to read previous posts more carefully.

[Great Moravian]

An interesting thread about Delosperma alpinum can be found at
http://www.bcss.org.uk/foruma/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=92733

[kelaidis]

I was not able to access SRGC's forum from my last computer most of last year: I was just given a new computer at work, and I can now pester you all!

I am delighted to see so much interest in Delosperma and Aizoaceae, since these are a major part of my work. I am appending a few pix of our big ice plant test bed for your perusal (You may want to put on sunglasses first): the South African plaza is very popular with the masses the three or four months when it is doing its thing...those hard candy colors are very popular with people right now (magenta, scarlet, orange, purple, pink and yellow)...