Lithops localis

Lithops localis is a dwarf leaf-succulent growing small clumps of heavily spotted leaf-pairs close to the ground. The pairs have truncated tops, their bodies connecting below-ground. The plant was earlier, is sometimes still, or some part of its population is still known in some circles as L. terricolor.

The leaf-pairs vary in colour from grey to bluish, yellowish or brown-red, always spotted. Plant clusters usually comprise two to five leaf-pairs, occasionally up to twenty. Leaf-top windows where sunlight enters vary from nearly opaque to translucent in small, dull grey-green islands. 

The species is found in the south of the Great Karoo, from Laingsburg to Beaufort West and Graaff-Reinet, southwards to Steytlerville and into the northeast of the Little Karoo.

The plants grow in varied karoid conditions, the gravelly plains of the southern Karoo an important component. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century, although some herbivores eat it (Grenier, 2019; Frandsen, 2017; Van Jaarsveld, et al, 2006; Smith, et al, 1998; Herre, 1971; http://redlist.sanbi.org).