A Lizard and a (New) Aloinopsis

It always gets complicated, doesn't it?? Bill the Lizard's been around several times this week....

He seems to be considering a perch on the immortelle, but I don't think he cares for that maple syrup smell too much....

Here he comes! But he looks conflicted....

It's a new Aloinopsis for Bill! He's chosen the luckhoffii, leaving the poor malherbei in the dust to languish and pine.  What next? A cactus? Who would have thought an anole could be so fickle?

Have a great weekend, and I'll be back with some brand new Lithops next week.

A Lizard and an Aloinopsis, Part III

Yesterday, it happened. Together again! They both look pretty happy.

So all's well that ends well for a lizard and his mesemb. Have a peaceful Sunday!

A Lizard and an Aloinopsis, Part II

Here's Part I in case you missed the beginning of this petite reptilian saga--
http://mylifeamongthelithops.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-lizard-and-aloinopsis.html

It was stormy this afternoon, so the pair of Aloinopsis (Aloinopses? Aloinopsises??) did not go out. Guess who showed up at the door?  I'll give you 2 guesses, but you'll only need one....

Bill the Lizard (or possibly Billette)

The poor thing was pining for his favorite succulent perch. He was there for quite some time....

He hadn't shown up for a few days, so I thought he had issues with his new web-celebrity status. Apparently, he was just on a short break, so the Aloinopsis will go right back out tomorrow. Sorry I let you down, Bill!

A Lizard and an Aloinopsis

A couple of days ago, one of the many lizards who lives on the Rogue Kalanchoe "Mother of Millions" in my yard made my acquaintance as I photographed my baby Panda Plants.

He's baaa-aaack! I'm gonna name him Bill, after the lizard in Lewis Carroll's Alice In Wonderland.

Turns out, Bill really enjoys hanging out on an Aloinopsis. I agree with him. Much nicer than a toxic Kalanchoe daigremontiana....

During the autumn and winter, I leave some of my mesemb collection out in the sun in the mornings, then take them in at lunch. But will Bill choose the A. malherbei or the A. luckhoffii?

A

Aloinopsis malherbei won the lizard popularity contest. Bill hung out for a few hours, then went back home to Mother of Millions. The next morning, it was rainy, so I didn't put the mesembs out to sun. No lizards out either. Then the sun came out again....
Guess who showed up at my screen door, just staring into the house, so disgruntled he didn't care that I was 1000 times bigger and meaner than he was?? You got it. So I put that Aloinopsis out, and pronto! No disapproving lizards for me. Bill got right back to his favorite sunnin' spot, pretty much the same spot as yesterday, and I swear he winked at me as he settled in to soak up some rays....

Will he be there tomorrow? You bet I'm putting that Aloinopsis out early!
(PS: Bill is a Brown Anole, Anolis sagrei, and is not native, but actually from Cuba! Did he swim all that way?? What a lizard!)
(PPS: Of course, Bill could be a Billette, but I really have no idea! I do however, feel grateful to this little anole for helping me see the world of mesembs from a radically different viewpoint. If I were an anole, which mesemb would I perch on??? Hmmm....)

Aloinopsis schooneesii: My, What a Lovely Caudex!

I love Aloinopsis, and schooneesii is my favorite. This caudiciform makes for a wonderful mini-bonsai. They are from South Africa, and A. schooneesii's leaves look like little greenish granite pebbles growing out of a tawny trunk, which is really its tap root.

They need somewhat deeper pots owing to the tap root, and can be raised up gradually as they grow, so the lovely caudex can be shown off to friends and family. I water mine weekly in summer and give them full sun in an east-facing window with good air circulation, about 75F for temperature.

I am growing several, and this one has the most  unique, swirly caudex of the bunch. They can grow to about 7cm in diameter, and I've seen some truly amazing older specimens win bonsai awards in my area. Beautiful and unique!

Out You Go!

I have two Aloinopsis malherbei. Bought at the same place, cared for identically by me. Yet one prefers to live indoors, and the other is a wildnerness lover.  Who says plants don't have personalities? Here's my indoor Aloinopsis:

All peachy flowers (gorgeous!), new leaves, as happy as can be. But my other Aloinopsis was sort of yellow (it was yellow when I bought it, but I wanted 2), not really growing, just skulking about. So as an experiment I moved him outside. I'm Zone 9, and they are Zone 10/11 plants, and these dunes are harsh. So he has a north-facing spot which still gives plenty of sun down here, and we only freeze once every few years, and never a hard freeze, either. So we'll see. He gets extra waterings from me with acidified water, and I upped the acid content of the outdoor soil. He's definitely been perking up, a few new leaves showing, not nearly so much yellow now, the leaf tips have gone green. Maybe he just likes living next to that cute Nananthus....

Speaking of which, what is going on in the Wild World of Plant Names?? I know DNA studies have been changing everything, but it seems like Nananthus and Aloinopsis are used interchangeably at the moment, what's up with that?

UPDATE: I am just starting to educate myself on the workings of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (more discreetly known as the APG)- the third paper came out about 3 years ago, so I'm catching up, and it does seem as though Nananthus and Aloinopsis are indeed related, but not interchangeable.