Thursday, September 6, 2012

Mystery Mesemb of the Month: What Is It?

After my recent Faucaria post, in which I learned a lot about the changing taxonomy of mesembs and how nursery labels ain't always right, I found myself looking bleakly at a sorry little plant my local nursery gave me as a freebie when I bought a few supplies last week.  Scarred, withered, and forlorn, it sat in its pot, which bore a scuffed label, "Gibbaeum heathii".  I looked up this species in my books and went, "Huh. That's no G. heathii!"

Nursery labels can be...misleading. Okay, they can just be flat-out wrong.

So what is it?? Another Gibbaeum? A mutant G. heathii?? I'm thinking an Antegibbaeum fissoides. Or maybe a Cheiridopsis?  Many of my readers are far more expert than I am, so I am asking you to Name That Mesemb.  And thanks in advance for your good help! I am slowly learning. Really.

Here it is:

Mesemb mysteriosa
And here's a closer view, it's peeking around the corner now....

A new set of leaves (impossible to photograph yet) is emerging from the central leaf pair. It's got a velvety texture. That's all I can say! What is this creature of mystery?? And will it get along with my Lithops?

4 comments:

  1. Hi, little water at all times otherwise they crack, as you see older leaves, more Autumn/early winter growers. My gut tells me it may be G. pubescens, heathii is smooth.

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  2. I have no idea what it is, but cool looking plant and great photos Marla!

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  3. Hi, LT!
    Yes, it had been sitting out at the nursery during our recent tropical storm, it got waterlogged over a period of days, and it cracked! They were going to throw it away it looked so hopeless, that's why it was a freebie. G. pubescens is very likely, I'll know for sure if it blooms at some point. So far, it's still alive, so that's good.

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  4. Lithopsland,
    I think for a "throwaway", it's doing OK, and the new leaves should be fine. Glad they gave it to me instead of chucking it in the bin!

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