Othonna herrei

Othonna herrei is a sparsely branched stem succulent that reaches 30 cm in height. Its knobbly, thick stem has black-brown bark and is covered in tubercular brown leaf-base bulges. The stem of a mature plant may measure 4 cm in diameter.

The grey-green or blue-green leaves growing from stem tips are spathulate or spoon-shaped and long-stalked. Leaf margins may be irregularly toothed and undulating. Leaves become 6 cm long. The flowers are small yellow daisies, about 12 mm in diameter, growing on long stalks of 7 cm.

This plant of the Northern Cape is a Richtersveld endemic where it grows sheltered among rocks and in crevices on south and southeast-facing mountain slopes. The species is considered to be vulnerable in its habitat early in the twenty first century. While not grazed and protected by rocks, there remains some risk of plant collection, the stem appearance being the draw-card (Williamson, 2010; www.bihrmann.com; www.redlist.sanbi.org).