Delosperma saxicola

Delosperma saxicola, the Tsitsikamma cliff vygie, is a sprawling or mat-forming succulent reaching 5 cm in height and 30 cm in diameter. The initially soft stems branch much, the roots are fibrous.

The pale green, succulent leaves grow in opposite pairs. They are triangular in cross-section, flat on the inside surfaces with sharp keels on the outside that are rounded near the acutely protruding tips.

The plant bears small, pale pink to nearly white flowers, not yet open when photographed in Kirstenbosch late in April.

The plant is range-restricted in nature, occurring close to the sea near Humansdorp in the Eastern Cape. 

The habitat is sandstone, south-facing, coastal cliffs near a river mouth in fynbos. The specific epithet, saxicola, is derived from the Latin words saxum meaning rock and cola meaning inhabiting, referring to the plant’s habitat. Although a rare plant, its population is considered to be stable early in the twenty first century (Bond and Goldblatt, 1984; iSpot; http://pza.sanbi.org; www.redlist.sanbi.org).