Blobs!

[Rogan]

On my last trip to the Little Karoo I photographed many of these "blobs" in their natural habitat - Gibbaeum album (Gibba = hump) and Muiria hortenseae (after John Muir and his daughter Hortense). By no stretch of the imagination can these plants be called alpine, but nevertheless they have a very intriguing lifestyle - they live off the frequent winter fogs that swirl around the mountains of the southern Cape; during the summer months they are shrivelled and dormant.

These two plants are closely related and many scholars are of the opinion that Muiria should be sunk into Gibbaeum     Muiria is indeed a very odd plant (...and quite difficult to grow!) and one school of thought sees it as a Gibbaeum that never quite grew up (neoteny). Anyway, enjoy it for its exclusive and unique characteristics.

[Anthony Darby]

Ah, bushman's buttocks!

[Lesley Cox]

These are very cute. Where else but on the Forum could we learn about plants from the Karoo, the Yemen, and deepest central Asia, all within a few minutes?

[Anthony Darby]

I have grown Lithops spp., which are often seen in garden centres here. They flower every year for me, either yellow or white.

[cohan]

On my last trip to the Little Karoo I photographed many of these "blobs" in their natural habitat - Gibbaeum album (Gibba = hump) and Muiria hortenseae (after John Muir and his daughter Hortense). By no stretch of the imagination can these plants be called alpine, but nevertheless they have a very intriguing lifestyle - they live off the frequent winter fogs that swirl around the mountains of the southern Cape; during the summer months they are shrivelled and dormant.

These two plants are closely related and many scholars are of the opinion that Muiria should be sunk into Gibbaeum     Muiria is indeed a very odd plant (...and quite difficult to grow!) and one school of thought sees it as a Gibbaeum that never quite grew up (neoteny). Anyway, enjoy it for its exclusive and unique characteristics.

great plants, rogan..this is a wonderful family, with so many fascinating adaptations, and many do grow very well indoors or under glass..happy to see any other photos from your excursion! maybe no alpine, but certainly rock garden plants, even if, up here, that means in a pot