''Anacampseros albidiflora'' is a species of

succulent plant In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meanin ...

native to the

Great Karoo The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe Khoemana (also known as !Orakobab or Korana) word is a semidesert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its extent i ...

and

Little Karoo The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe Khoemana (also known as !Orakobab or Korana) word is a semidesert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its extent i ...

regions of

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 ...

.Dyer, R. Allen, ''The Genera of Southern African Flowering Plants''. , 1975

Description

Anacampseros albidiflora - flower a - Copy

The small (4 cm high), erect column-stems of this species are extremely hairy. The tiny rounded leaves have slight downcurved tips. The long (up to 2 cm), white, curling hairs extend further out than its small (7x5mm), red-green, rounded (obovoid), densely packed leaves, and cover them. (Unlike '' Anacampseros subnuda'', its older leaves do not become bald.) ''An. albidiflora'' has pale pink to white-ish flowers, each with roughly 25 stamens.

Similar related species

It is often confused with the related species, '' Anacampseros arachnoides'' - another hairy ''

Anacampseros ''Anacampseros'' L. is a genus comprising about a hundred species of small perennial succulent plants native to Southern Africa, Ethiopia and Latin America. The botanical name ''Anacampseros'' is an ancient one for herbs supposed to restore los ...

'' with a similar distribution (though favouring slightly moister habitats). However the leaves of ''An. arachnoides'' are ovoid, with tiny acuminate points, and are arranged in a 2/5 spiral. The leaves of ''An. albidiflora'' are obovoid-rounded to truncate, and are arranged in a 3/8 spiral (similar to those of '' Anacampseros subnuda'' or ''

Anacampseros filamentosa ''Anacampseros'' L. is a genus comprising about a hundred species of small perennial succulent plants native to Southern Africa, Ethiopia and Latin America. The botanical name ''Anacampseros'' is an ancient one for herbs supposed to restore los ...

'').

Distribution

''An. albidiflora'' occurs in the

and

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 of

. Of the region's other ''

'' species, with which it co-occurs, ''An. albidiflora'' tends to favour the most arid habitats. In habitats which are more arid still, a member of a closely related genus, '' Avonia papyracea'', becomes dominant; In slightly less arid habitats, '' Anacampseros arachnoides'' takes over.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q17270070 albidiflora