Conophytum bilobum var. muscosipapillatum

Conophytum bilobum var. muscosipapillatum is one of the forms of this highly variable species. The plant is a perennial dwarf succulent that produces a branched low-growing mat of paired succulent leaves. The leaves are erect, bi-lobed and grey-blue or yellowish green in colour with red margins. Each pair wilts in summer becoming a dry persistent, protective skin that partly covers next season’s emerging leaf pair.

Yellow flowers appear in winter between the lobes. Rare colour variations of white and pink flowers are sometimes seen. They bloom from the end of summer through autumn. The flowers have delicate, narrow, yellow petals and tufts of short yellow stamens in the centre. The plants grow in the Richtersveld near the Sandberg.