Ruschia griquensis

Ruschia griquensis, the Griqua hook fig, is a leaf-succulent shrublet belonging to the Aizoaceae family. The creeping and sometimes erect branches are densely leaved.

The leaves are oblong, three-sided and covered in scattered surface cells that show whitish translucence against the light. Leaf margins are smooth, often reddish towards their tips. Apart from the pointed tip, there is an unusual second hook or tooth on the leaf keel near the actual leaf tip.

The fruit capsule in picture has five locules. Ruschia species are differentiated from Antimima plants by their fruit capsules having small, hook-shaped closing bodies and expanding keels. Some Ruschia species have been moved to Antimima in accordance with this distinction.

R. griquensis distribution in nature is in the Free State and the Northern Cape.

The plant sprawls on exposed, stony flats in sem-arid conditions. The population is deemed stable in habitat early in the twenty first century (Smith, et al, 1998; www.redlist.sanbi.org).