Conophytum bilobum

Conophytum bilobum was caught flowering here among leafy lichen covered rocks. The season is autumn and the place is near Concordia in eastern Namaqualand. There is a plethora of Aizoaceae plant species in this region, many of which flower before, during or after winter rain. This plant, as well as several other Conophytum species found here will flower first and then push up new leaves during the rainy season.

The yellow flowers and the two-lobed leaf pairs of C. bilobum present many forms; a “flexible” plant that has produced many successful intraspecies variations that could respond successfully to challenges presented by habitat features of its distribution (Smith, et al, 1998).