''Acrodon'' is a genus of ice plants from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. It comprises five species, mostly endangered and all restricted to the southern Cape regions of the

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

and

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape ( ; ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, and its largest city is Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). Due to its climate and nineteenth-century towns, it is a common location for tourists. It is also kno ...

Provinces,

Description

Species of ''Acrodon'' form dense, low mats or tufts of growth, and their leaves are triangular in cross-section. Another distinctive feature is that the leaves and flowers have a few tiny teeth along the ends of their margins and keels. The white or pink flowers often have striped petals. The fruits are solid and persistent, with five deep locules.

History

Initially, Acrodon consisted of just one species - '' Acrodon bellidiflorus.'' A closer examination of '' Ruschia'' in 1986, however, found that several species shared traits with ''Acrodon bellidiflorus,'' resulting in them being moved to the genus ''Acrodon.'' Specifically, species in ''Acrodon'' had a more compact growth for while those in ''Ruschia'' formed shrubs, and ''Acrodon'' species had evenly spaced petals while ''Ruschia'' species had petals in five bundles. ' A later examination of ''Acrodon'', specifically of the fruits, however, found that ''Acrodon'' likely consists of at least two distinct genera - ''Acrodon'' and '' Brianhuntleya''. The species of ''Acrodon'' species have funnel-shaped capsule base while those of ''Brianhuntleya'' have flat capsule bases. These two fruit types require different positionings and orientations on and of the stalk holding them.

Species

The following species are recognised as of January 2023: *'' Acrodon bellidiflorus'' (L.) N.E.Br. A common Renosterveld species that extends from Hermanus to Oudtshoorn. *'' Acrodon caespitosus'' H.E.K.Hartmann (Synonyms: ''Acrodon duplessiae'' (Bolus) Glen) *'' Acrodon deminutus'' Klak. A rarer species restricted to quartz-fields in the Eastern Rûens Shale Renosterveld and Potberg Ferricrete Fynbos vegetation types. *'' Acrodon parvifolius'' R.du Plessis. An endangered species restricted to quartz and silcrete patches near to the coast, in the Botrivier area. *'' Acrodon subulatus'' (Mill.) N.E.Br. An endangered species restricted to shale Renostervelds in the far western Overberg. (Synonymns: ''Acrodon leptophyllus'' (Bolus) Glen) The following were previously included in ''Acrodon'' but have been moved to other genera: *''Acrodon purpureostylus'' (L.Bolus) Burgoyne - now '' Brianhuntleya purpureostyla'' (L.Bolus) H.E.K.Hartmann *''Acrodon quarcicola'' H.E.K.Hartmann - now '' Brianhuntleya quarcicola'' (H.E.K.Hartmann) H.E.K.Hartmann

Relatives

This species has historically been confused with Ruschia. It is frequently confused with related genera that grow in the same region, such as '' Brianhuntleya'' or '' Cerochlamys''.

References

Endemic flora of the Cape Provinces Aizoaceae genera Taxa named by N. E. Brown {{Aizoaceae-stub