Gibbaeum angulipes

Gibbaeum angulipes is a mat-forming leaf succulent that forms low, dense clumps of up to 50 cm in diameter.

The thick, longish (3 cm) leaves are variably shaped, triangular to round in cross-section and borne erectly. Leaf surfaces are velvety with short, white hairs on the green to grey surfaces, sometimes tinged red at the tips.

The flowers are borne solitary on fleshy erect stalks with unequal, pointed sepals.  A single whorl of purple-pink petals surrounds the whitish, staminal centre. Petals are narrow and oblong, slightly shiny, somewhat dishevelled in presentation. Flowering happens in late spring.

The distribution of the plant lies in parts of the western Little Karoo in or near the Langeberg. This plant was seen near Barrydale in October.

The habitat is open, quartzite slopes and flats. The plants population in nature is considered vulnerable early in the twenty first century, due to trampling by stock and game (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010; iSpot; www.redlist.sanbi.org).