''Acrodon deminutus'', also known as the Malgas tiptoothfig, is a species of mesemb from South Africa.

Description

This spreading succulent grows up to tall.e-Flora of South Africa. v1.36. 2022. South African National Biodiversity Institute. http://ipt.sanbi.org.za/iptsanbi/resource?r=flora_descriptions&v=1.36 It has a diameter of up to . It has a tap root and only rarely has adventitious roots. The internodes are red when young, turning ochre with age. They do not have roots and grow up to long. The tringualar leaves are free almost to the base and grow long and borad and thick. They are green, blue-green or grey-green in colour and have toothed margins. The keel has two or three teeth and each margin has four or five teeth. It is the only species in the genus to also have teeth over the flat sides of the leaf in some leaves. The epidermal bladder cells are completely flattened. Single flowers are borne on the ends of branches in September. The

calyx Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to: Biology * Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...

has five lobes. The bracts grow closely around the short stem holding the flower, embracing the base of the flower. The petals are magenta at the tips and bases and white in between. They have a diameter of . The filaments holding the stamens are white at the base and magenta at the tips. The fruit is a 5-locular capsule that has a diameter. It is dark grey in colour. It has a flat top and shallow base with raised rimes. The closing body is lens shaped. The fruit opens through short keels becoming erect, causin the closing body to move from the base. The D-shaped seeds are brown. The testa cells are arraned in concentric rows. They are up to long and have an average mass of .

Distribution and habitat

This species is endemic to the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

. It grows in the

Renosterveld Renosterveld is a term used for one of the major plant communities and vegetation types of the Cape Floristic Region (Cape Floral Kingdom) which is located in southwestern and southeastern South Africa, in southernmost Africa. It is an ecoregio ...

biome between

Swellendam Swellendam is the fifth oldest town in South Africa (after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, and Paarl), a town with 17,537 inhabitants situated in the Western Cape province. The town has over 50 provincial heritage sites, most of the ...

and

Bredasdorp Bredasdorp is a town in the Southern Overberg region of the Western Cape, South Africa, and the main economic and service hub of that region. It lies on the northern edge of the Agulhas Plain, about south-east of Cape Town and north of Cape A ...

. It grows on stony quartz outcrops on clay. It prefers gently sloping hills.

Etymology

The species name comes from the Latin ''deminutus'' , which means reduced or diminutive. This refers to the small size of the leaves of this species.

Conservation

This species is considered to be vulnerable by the

South African National Biodiversity Institute The South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) is an organisation established in 2004 in terms of the National Environmental Management: Biodiversity Act, No 10 of 2004, under the South African Department of Environmental Affairs ...

. The Swellendam area is highly cultivated, and the plants are potentially at risk of being trampled by or grazed on by livestock in the four locations that they are known from.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q15608726 Flora of South Africa deminutus