Cleretum

The Cleretum genus of the Aizoaceae family comprises erect and flat, spreading annuals. The leaves, stems and sepals are covered in soft, glistening papillae or water cells, prominent on the surfaces.

The opposite, spoon-shaped leaves have flat, succulent blades usually with entire, smooth margins, in a few species lobed.

The flowers are solitary at stem-tips with short pedicels but without bracts. The flowers vary in size. They open in sunlight (the species bearing bigger flowers) or are cleistogamous, i.e. they don’t open at all and self-pollinate (the species bearing smaller flowers). There are five sepals and one to three whorls of petals that spread in open flowers.

The flower centre has relatively few stamens, initially incurving, as well as staminodes. Five green nectary glands are present in each flower base. The ovary is convex on top with five (sometimes six) radiating ridges and the same number of thread-like or tapering stigmas.

The fruit capsule has five (sometimes six) locules and is distinctively ridged on top. There are large expanding keels and broad valve wing bodies. The seeds are compressed and triangular with smooth to rough surfaces.

The genus consists of about 13 species since the inclusion of Dorotheanthus around 2012. All of them occur in the Western Cape and the Northern Cape, from the Cape Peninsula to the Richtersveld, some with restricted distribution ranges.

Several species are popular in cultivation, easy to grow in the winter rainfall region. The plant in picture, Cleretum bellidiforme, was photographed in the Biedouw Valley during September (Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; Wikipedia; iNaturalist).