| Habit | cacti-succulent
| |
|---|---|---|
| Height: | ⇕ | 4 in"in" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 4. to 6 in"in" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 6. |
| Width: | ⇔ | 6 in"in" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 6. to 10 in"in" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 10. |
| Lifespan: | ⌛ | perennial |
| Origin: | ✈ | S Africa |
| Bloom: | ❀ | early spring, mid spring, late spring, early winter, mid winter, late winter |
| Exposure: | ☼ | part-sun |
|---|---|---|
| Water: | ◍ | dry |
| Features: | ✓ | flowers |
| Minimum Temp: | ☃ | 32°F273.15 K <br />0 °C <br />491.67 °R <br /> |
| USDA Zones: | 8 to 11 | |
| Flower features: | ❀ | orange, yellow |
Fenestraria rhopalophylla is an unusual plant from the deserts of South Africa. Each leaf has a translucent window at the tip, where sunlight is filtered to enable photosynthesis throughout the leaf. Grows to 2 inches tall.
Fenestraria is a monotypic genus of succulent plants in the family Aizoaceae. The species is also called babies toes or window plant. On each leaf there is transparent window-like area at the top, it is for these window-like structures that the genus is named (Latin: fenestra). In the wild, the plant grows mostly buried by sand. The transparent tips are often above the sand and allow light into the leaves for photosynthesis. F. rhopalophylla is native to Namibia and Namaqualand in southern Africa. The plants are generally found growing in sandy or calciferous soils under low < 100 mm rainfall.
F. rhopalophylla appears very similar to Frithia pulchra, though the leaves are a slightly different shape and F. rhopalophylla has yellow flowers, compared to the pink flowers of F. pulchra.
Cultivation
Will not tolerate water-logged soils. Provide bright light. Hardy to 32°F. Water thoroughly when soil is dry.
Propagation
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Pests and diseases
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Varieties
Subspecies:
- F. rhopalophylla subsp. rhopalophylla
- F. rhopalophylla subsp. aurantiaca (=*F. aurantiaca)
Gallery
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Large stand of F. rhopalophylla subsp. rhopalophylla seedlings
F. rhopalophylla in flower
- Fenestraria rhopalophylla.JPG
photo 3
References
- Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
External links
- w:Fenestraria rhopalophylla. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
- Fenestraria rhopalophylla QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)