Oscularia deltoides

The densely shrubby mat of predominently pale, multicoloured leaves of the dassievygie (hyrax mesemb) or sandsteenvygie (sandstone mesemb), as Oscularia deltoides is commonly known in Afrikaans, range from silvery grey, green, blue to an occasional orange hue. Identification is facilitated by the pointy squat leaves that are sickle-shaped to club-shaped. The pinkish red to purplish tips or teeth spaced along the margins of the three-sided leaves also help.

O. deltoides forms a low-growing ground cover from multiple branching of stems that produce slightly unequal pairs of sessile succulent leaves. The summer flowers, shiny pink and small, grow in large numbers to almost cover the leaves in season.

O. deltoides grows in nature in the south-western part of the Western Cape.The plant grows among rocks on fynbos and scrub slopes. The species is not considered to be threatened in its habitat early in the twenty first century.

Some species of the diverse Lampranthus genus, including this one, have been moved to Oscularia some time ago (Smith, et al, 1998; Wikipedia; http://redlist.sanbi.org).