Welcome to the Conophytum WebPages!

The genus Conophytum (Aizoaceae - Ruschioideae) is a very interesting succulent plant group for botanists and hobbiists. The plants are perfectly adapted to the semi-desert and desert environment of the winterrainfall region of South Africa and southern Namibia.

Conophytums are very small plants and the reduction of the vegetative parts can be interpreted as an adaptation to reduce water stress. The plants prefer shady places, and therefore they grow normally on the shaded side of hills and in rock-crevices, or they hide under the cover of larger plants, or quartzite pebbles. 

Many of the plants are striking due to their often beautifully dotted, marked or streaked bodies. The bodies are formed of two fused opposite leaves with showy flowers emerging from the interior of these growths. The small size of the plants makes it often very hard to find them in nature. However, when flowering - most species flower from march to mai - the plants are often very showy to attract different groups of flower visitors that feed on pollen and / or nectar.Their floral mass display is attractive for many day- and night active flower visiting insects and the adaptation of Conophytum species to different pollinator types might be a important factor for the radiation of the genus.

About 100 Conophytum species are known until today (compare Hammer 1993, 2002). This is a relatively high number for a succulent genus. The enormous variation of plants and populations is documented in pictures, descriptions, and collections, especially of many hobbiists. However, the high species number is not due to the fact that every population with distinct morphological or phenological features was described as a new species. The actually applied species concept of Hammer (1993, 2002) is rather "conservative" and it is based on information of different research fields (including vegetative and floral morphology, micro morphology, phenological observations, changes during aging of plants and clones, hybridisation experiments, furthermore plants have been studied during field trips in their natural habitat, as well as in culture).

The WebProject is organized in the following sections:

NEWS: On the news pages we want to give information on recent developments, discussions, and new data of our Conophytum research that have been integrated into the WebProject.

INFORMATION: The information pages give an introduction into the genus, its pollination biology, floral scent analysis, evolution, and its "homeland" Namaqualand.

PICTURES: Pictures of Conophytum species in their natural habitat. A good basis to get an idea about the variability of this genus.

DATA: On these pages you will find data on (1) taxonomy, (2) morphology, (3) localities, (4) distribution (5) flower visitors, (6) floral scent, (7) an interactive DELTA KEY for the identification of species.

LINKS: This page will give links to other interesting sources.

_{Andreas Jürgens}