Portulacaria pygmaea

Portulacaria pygmaea, commonly known as the pygmy porkbush, in Afrikaans as the dwergspekboom and scientifically previously as Ceraria pygmaea, is a dwarf leaf and stem succulent reaching heights from 5 cm to 15 cm and 30 cm in width. The plant grows from a thick, tuberous caudex.

The flowers grow in stem-tip clusters of two to six. They are small and inconspicuous, coloured pink, lilac or white. The species is dioecious, bearing its male and female flowers on different plants.

P. pygmaea has a limited distribution close to the mouth of the Gariep River near Sendelingsdrif and Grootderm in the north of the Richtersveld. The plants are also found on the Namibian side of the Gariep Valley, and northwards to near Lüderitz.

The habitat is quartzite slopes and sandy flats. The habitat population is considered critically endangered early in the twenty first century, due to habitat destruction and degradation, as well as mining and plant collection (Williamson, 2010; iNaturalist; www.llifle.com; http://redlist.sanbi.org).