Conophytum wettsteinii on rocky ground

Conophytum wettsteinii is a variable dwarf succulent of which four subspecies are sometimes recognised. This plant was photographed near Springbok, flowering in July, midwinter.

The plant grows a compact, dome-shaped cluster or tuft of flattish, disc-like leaf-pairs, fused to each other with only a small slit in the centre. The older plants may have grown short stems; young ones are stemless. The flat tops of the leaf-pairs may be concave or convex on individual plants or ebbing in the dry season (Smith, et al, 1998).