Erepsia lacera buds

In bud the calyx of Erepsia lacera bulges roundly, the uneven sepals thickly fleshy and leaf-like.

The leaf pairs are decussate upon the stems, and the sepals follow suit: The two sepals perpendicular to the highest leaf-pair grow taller than the other three and have keels with teeth like a leaf pair, a feature lacking in the shorter, lateral sepals between them. All five sepals are thickly succulent.

The fusing of the leaf bases in an embrace of the stem can be observed in the photo (Smith, et al, 1998; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iSpot; www.plantzafrica.com).