Ebracteola fulleri capsules of different seasons

The unusual appearance of the Ebracteola fulleri fruit capsules in picture are significant species identification components, divulging information when searching for deeper mesemb world secrets. Capsule shapes differentiate most of the several thousand species of the Aizoaceae family, and its many genera.

The details focussed on include the number of locules, matched by the number of valves on top of the locules within which the seeds are stored until dispersal. In the case of the Ebracteola genus the number of locules is almost always five.

Other parts of significance are expanding keels that are broad in Ebracteola, valve wings that are narrow in the genus, and closing bodies that appear hook-shaped for these plants, while Ebracteola covering membranes are stiff. In picture, the capsule tops show upturned valve tips on the most recent season’s fruit, flattened on the older ones sitting lower on the plant. 

The close-up also shows transversal wrinkles on the leaves that sacrificed juice from delivering resources for fruiting (Williamson, 2010; Smith, et al, 1998; iNaturalist).