Gibbaeum heathii old purple flowers

Gibbaeum heathii plants known for their white flowers may surprise when some deliver pink or purple ones. Not much is left of the departing petals here though, the thick, pointed sepal lobes around their leftovers becoming more significant during the onset of the fruiting stage.

The wrinkled old leaves around the paler new pairs protect like still used “fat clothes”.

The young baby bum new leaf-pairs are adjacent to the flowers, together in the clasp of the ageing pairs (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015; Smith, et al, 1998; iNaturalist).