Aloinopsis MALHERBEI

Aloinopsis MALHERBEI - Malherbe's Aloinopsis, Giant Jewel Plant, Nananthus.

'Living Stones' seed series.

Aloinopsis is a genus of dwarf succulents in the Aizoaceae family, comprising about eight species. All of them are endemic to South Africa and grow in arid regions of the Western, Eastern, and Northern Cape provinces - in the Karoo and Namaqualand, on gravelly shale plains and rocky slopes, where less than 300 mm (12 in) of precipitation falls per year.

The plants are quite small: rosettes 3-10 cm (1.2-4 in) across rise above the ground by only 2-5 cm (0.8-2 in). However, their root is huge - a thick tuberous taproot up to 20 cm (8 in) long and up to 4 cm (1.6 in) in diameter, storing moisture during drought. Each rosette bears 4-10 fleshy spatulate or tongue-shaped leaves 1.2-3.8 cm (0.5-1.5 in) long and up to 2.5 cm (1 in) wide, green, bluish-green, or with a purplish tint, usually entirely covered with small warts.

The flowers are solitary, daisy-like, silky, 1-3.2 cm (0.4-1.3 in) across, from yellow and golden-bronze to orange and pink, often with a darker stripe along the midline of each petal. They open toward evening and close with the onset of darkness, with a single flower lasting 5-8 days. The fruit is a dry capsule with small seeds.

Aloinopsis malherbei is a species from the Cape provinces of South Africa, from the vicinity of Calvinia and Loeriesfontein. It is the largest-leaved member of the genus, earning it the English nickname "giant jewel plant". It is a compact succulent about 5 cm (2 in) high, forming dense clumps of low rosettes.

The leaves are erect, fan-shaped, fleshy, up to 2 cm (0.8 in) long, glaucous-green, with a light waxy coating. The species differs from other aloinopsis in that its tubercles are concentrated near the leaf tips and along the margin, rather than scattered over the entire blade. The flowers are yellow, up to 2.5 cm (1 in) across, with a honey scent, opening from mid-winter to early spring in the afternoon and closing by night.

Aloinopsis seeds are very small, dark, and mature in dry capsules that open with moisture. Soaking such seeds is impractical, so the substrate itself is disinfected: before sowing, it is drenched with a weak solution of potassium permanganate and dried slightly. Scarification and stratification are not required.

Sowing is carried out in a shallow tray with a mixture of 1 part leaf soil and 2 parts coarse sand with perlite, with an interval of 2-3 mm (0.08-0.12 in) between seeds, lightly pressed down and dusted with a thin layer of sand no thicker than 1 mm (0.04 in). The sowing is moistened from a spray bottle with a growth stimulant solution: SUPERthrive, HB-101, Aminozol, Epin, or Zircon, covered with film or placed in a propagator, and germinated in light, but not under direct rays, at a temperature of 25-30 °C (77-86 °F).