Aizoon glinoides

Aizoon glinoides, commonly called the silky baconfig, in Afrikaans the spekvygie (bacon mesemb) and previously scientifically A. hirsutum, is a sprawling, hairy, leaf succulent becoming around 5 cm tall.

The specific name, glinoides, is derived from the Greek words glinos meaning sweet juice and -oides meaning resembling, referring to the similarity of this plant to some species in the Glinus genus.

The species distribution is in the east of the Western Cape, the eastern Little Karoo continuing in the Eastern Cape, maybe also KwaZulu-Natal. The photo was taken near the Kouga River.

The habitat is often-dry flats where the plants grow in the open in disturbed clay soils. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century (Curtis-Scott, et al, 2020; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iNaturalist; http://redlist.sanbi.org).