Erepsia

Erepsia is a genus of perennial leaf succulents in the Aizoaceae or mesemb family. The smooth-stemmed shrubs and shrublets are erect or decumbent, often branching at the base.

The leaves are sharply three-angled ending in sharp tips with mucros, tiny hard or hair-like protrusions. Thin waxy layers cover the leaves, often with glassy dots.

Inflorescences may be many-flowered or single-flowered, often short-stalked or nearly stalkless. There are five fleshy sepals. The mostly oblong petals grow in several spreading whorls. Petal colours are pink, purple or white.

The stamens arise from the inner surface or top of the calyx tube. They are partly or fully covered by staminodes. The generic name, Erepsia, is derived from the Greek word, erepsis, meaning I hide myself, referring to the reproductive parts in the flower hidden under staminodes.

The nectary is a continuous ring or groups of small protrusions in the flower base. The ovary is concave on top, the stamens bending in over it. The usually five stigmas are small.

Flowering happens in spring and summer. The flowers of many species remain open day and night. This earned them the Afrikaans name of altydvygies (always mesembs).

The fruit is a woody, mostly five-locular capsule, in some cases more, up to thirteen. The capsule resembles those of the Lampranthus genus. The base of the capsule is funnel-shaped, the keels ending in awns. The covering membranes have closing ledges on the sides. The valve wings are variable and there are no closing bodies. The seeds are large, dark-brown and rough-surfaced.

There are about 30 Erepsia species, almost all in the Western Cape, otherwise the Eastern Cape. The plants are commonly known as spoonfigs.

The plant in picture is Erepsia inclaudens (Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Smith, et al, 1998; http://www.theplantlist.org).