Carpanthea POMERIDIANA

Carpanthea POMERIDIANA - Afternoon Carpanthea, Golden Carpet.

Carpanthea is a tiny genus in the ice plant family (Aizoaceae), comprising only two species. Both are endemic to the sandy coastal areas of the Western Cape province of South Africa, in the vicinity of Cape Town.

The plants are annual, herbaceous, weakly succulent, with spreading decumbent shoots. Leaves are flat, narrowly oblong to lanceolate, 3.5-10 cm (1.4-3.9 in) long and 1-2.5 cm (0.4-1.0 in) wide. The entire plant is densely covered with long white hairs.

The flowers are golden-yellow, up to 7 cm (2.8 in) across, with numerous narrow petals, opening only in the afternoon. The fruit is a broad flat woody capsule with 12-20 locules and a complex internal structure.

Afternoon carpanthea is a fast-growing groundcover plant 15-30 cm (5.9-11.8 in) tall and just as wide. It blooms abundantly throughout the summer, from June to October.

The specific epithet 'pomeridiana' translates from Latin as "afternoon" and accurately describes the behaviour of the flower: it opens in the afternoon and closes toward evening. The plant is light-demanding and reaches its greatest ornamental effect in open sunny spots and light soils.

Carpanthea seeds are very small, dark, ripening in broad woody capsules with 12-20 locules. Soaking such tiny seeds is impractical, so the substrate itself is disinfected: before sowing, it is drenched with a weak potassium permanganate solution and dried slightly. Scarification and stratification are not required.

Seeds can be sown in spring directly into flowerbeds, but starting seedlings indoors accelerates development and extends flowering. Sowing is carried out on the surface, without covering, moistened from a spray bottle with a growth stimulant solution: SUPERthrive, HB-101, Aminozol, Epin, or Zircon, covered with a transparent lid or placed in a greenhouse, and germinated in light at a temperature of 18-22 °C (64-72 °F).

Under favourable conditions, the first seedlings appear within a week, primary germination is completed in 2-3 weeks, and individual seeds may take longer. Sowing containers are ventilated daily, condensation is removed, and both waterlogging and drying out are unacceptable. Pricking out is carried out after the formation of 2-3 true leaves into individual small pots.

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