Anacampseros

Anacampseros is a genus of leafy succulent perennials and undershrubs in the Anacampserotaceae family, previously in Portulacaceae. The sparingly branched plants often grow from tuberous rootstocks. The soft, fleshy roots are thick, the stems short and fleshy.

The simple leaves are alternate, sometimes arranged in rosettes and tightly stacked. The succulent leaves have entire margins, the blade surfaces smooth, white woolly or dotted with papillae. When there are stipules, they tend to be long, wiry, bristly or thread-like, sometimes standing taller than the leaves.

The inflorescences grow on erect peduncles from stem-tips, the flowers appearing in clusters of two or more. Reduced, bract-like leaves may occur on the scapes. The sessile flowers are bisexual, opening only for a few hours in bright sunlight. The two sepals drop off soon. The five, short-lived petals are red, pink or white, emerging from below the (superior) ovary. The numerous stamens are attached to the petal bases. Their filaments are usually white, the anthers yellow. The sessile ovary has one locule, the ovules attached to a central, free placenta. The style is three-branched.

The fruit is a three-valved capsule, or appearing falsely six-valved. The seeds are compressed or angled and sometimes three-winged.

There are 14 Anacampseros species, all found in arid parts of southern Africa. They often grow in semi-shade under shrubs and tend to flower shortly after rain, often thunderstorms, therefore in the rainy season of the species distribution.

The plant in picture is Anacampseros telephiastrum (Leistner, (Ed.), 2000; Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2015).