Adromischus filicaulis

This Adromischus filicaulis plant is cared for in greenhouse conditions in the Stellenbosch University Botanical Garden. The slightly wrinkled leaves resemble the drought and heat conditions the plant would experience in habitat during March.

There are two subspecies: subsp. filicaulis and subsp. marlothii only differ in the latter growing stilt roots from stem nodes and occurring in a larger distribution. While subsp. filicaulis grows from the Richtersveld to the Knersvlakte, subsp. marlothii’s distribution extends to the Little and Great Karoo, slightly into arid parts of the Eastern Cape.

The leaves may be spotted or not in both subspecies and sometimes flattened, although always thick and succulent. These plants are highly variable and slow-growing (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; iNaturalist; http://llifle.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).