''Anacampseros'' L. is a genus comprising about a hundred species of small perennial succulent plants native to

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

and

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

. The botanical name ''Anacampseros'' is an ancient one for herbs supposed to restore lost love. The Australian species '' Grahamia australiana'' was at one time included in the genus ''Anacampseros'', but the entire genus now is regarded as

n, and no longer includes any Australian representatives.

Description

Plants in the genus ''Anacampseros'' are perennial. In

habit A habit (or wont, as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. A 1903 paper in the '' American Journal of Psychology'' defined a "habit, from the standpoint of psychology, ...

they are small undershrubs or sprawling herbs that may form dense mats. Mature plants of many of the species form a small

caudex A caudex (: caudices) of a plant is a stem, but the term is also used to mean a rootstock and particularly a basal stem structure from which new growth arises.pages 456 and 695 In the strict sense of the term, meaning a stem, "caudex" is most ...

or a tuberous root-stock. The leaves of most species are succulent and may be either

lanceolate The following terms are used to describe leaf plant morphology, morphology in the description and taxonomy (biology), taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (that is, the leaf blade or 'lamina' is undivided) or compound (that is, the leaf blade ...

in shape or rounded.Dyer, R. Allen, The Genera of Southern African Flowering Plants”. , 1975 The arrangement of leaves on a stem is

alternate Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an alternative to mainstream superh ...

. The leaves in most species are closely spaced, and in some species they are small and more or less hidden by papery or

filamentous The word filament, which is descended from Latin ''filum'' meaning "Thread (yarn), thread", is used in English for a variety of thread-like structures, including: Astronomy * Galaxy filament, the largest known cosmic structures in the universe * ...

fascicled

stipule In botany, a stipule is an outgrowth typically borne on both sides (sometimes on just one side) of the base of a leafstalk (the petiole (botany), petiole). They are primarily found among dicots and rare among monocots. Stipules are considered part ...

s. Some species have

sessile Sessility, or sessile, may refer to: * Sessility (motility), organisms which are not able to move about * Sessility (botany), flowers or leaves that grow directly from the stem or peduncle of a plant * Sessility (medicine), tumors and polyps that ...

flowers, often in an

involucre In botany, a bract is a modified or specialized leaf, associated with a reproductive structure such as a flower, inflorescence axis or cone scale. Bracts are usually different from foliage leaves in size, color, shape or texture. They also look ...

. Other species bear their flowers on

racemose A raceme () or racemoid is an unbranched, indeterminate type of inflorescence bearing flowers having short floral stalks along the shoots that bear the flowers. The oldest flowers grow close to the base and new flowers are produced as the shoo ...

peduncles. In contrast to the alternately born leaves, the bracts are

opposite In lexical semantics, opposites are words lying in an inherently incompatible binary relationship. For example, something that is ''even'' entails that it is not ''odd''. It is referred to as a 'binary' relationship because there are two members i ...

and scarious. The flowers are

actinomorphic Floral symmetry describes whether, and how, a flower, in particular its perianth, can be divided into two or more identical or mirror-image parts. Uncommonly, flowers may have no axis of symmetry at all, typically because their parts are spirall ...

with two

caducous Dehiscence is the splitting of a mature plant structure along a built-in line of weakness to release its contents. This is common among fruits, anthers and sporangia. Sometimes this involves the complete detachment of a part. Structures that op ...

sepal A sepal () is a part of the flower of angiosperms (flowering plants). Usually green, sepals typically function as protection for the flower in bud, and often as support for the petals when in bloom., p. 106 Etymology The term ''sepalum'' ...

s and five fugacious

petal Petals are modified leaves that form an inner whorl surrounding the reproductive parts of flowers. They are often brightly coloured or unusually shaped to attract pollinators. All of the petals of a flower are collectively known as the ''corol ...

s. The petals may be white, pink, or even pale purple. The plants flower from time to time in summer, and open on sunny days only. The numerous stamens are attached to the bases of the petals. The

style Style, or styles may refer to: Film and television * ''Style'' (2001 film), a Hindi film starring Sharman Joshi, Riya Sen, Sahil Khan and Shilpi Mudgal * ''Style'' (2002 film), a Tamil drama film * ''Style'' (2004 film), a Burmese film * '' ...

is split into three. The

ovary The ovary () is a gonad in the female reproductive system that produces ova; when released, an ovum travels through the fallopian tube/ oviduct into the uterus. There is an ovary on the left and the right side of the body. The ovaries are end ...

superior Superior may refer to: *Superior (hierarchy), something which is higher in a hierarchical structure of any kind Places * Superior (proposed U.S. state), an unsuccessful proposal for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan to form a separate state *Lak ...

, and ripens into a three-valved unilocular capsule that contains many seeds on a free-standing central placenta. In some species the three valves are misleadingly split into six valves. The seeds are compressed and may be angled or have three wings.

Taxonomy

''Anacampseros'' is now a genus in the family

Anacampserotaceae The Anacampserotaceae are a family of plants proposed in the February 2010 issue of the journal ''Taxon''. The family was described by Urs Eggli and Reto Nyffeler in their analysis of the polyphyly in the suborder Portulacineae (order Caryophy ...

, whereas until about 2010 it had been considered a member of

Portulacaceae The Portulacaceae are a family of flowering plants, comprising 115 species in a single genus '' Portulaca''. Formerly some 20 genera with about 500 species, were placed there, but it is now restricted to encompass only one genus, the other genera ...

.The Plant List (2013). Version 1.1. Published on the Internet; http://www.theplantlist.org/ (accessed January 2016) ''Anacampseros'' Mill. is a synonym of the genus ''

Sedum ''Sedum'' is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae, members of which are commonly known as stonecrops. The genus has been described as containing up to 600 species, subsequently reduced to 400–500. They are leaf succule ...

'', which is in a different plant family,

Crassulaceae The Crassulaceae (, from Latin ''crassus'', thick), also known as the crassulas, the stonecrops or the orpine family, are a diverse Family (biology), family of dicotyledon angiosperms primarily characterized by succulent leaves and a form of phot ...

Species

The following species were listed as accepted in the Kew Gardens Plant list at the start of 2016. *''

Anacampseros affinis ''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 ...

'' H.Pearson & Stephens *''

Anacampseros albidiflora ''Anacampseros albidiflora'' is a species of succulent plant native to the Great Karoo and Little Karoo regions of South Africa.Dyer, R. Allen, ''The Genera of Southern African Flowering Plants''. , 1975 Description The small (4 cm high), ...

Anacampseros lanceolata ''Anacampseros lanceolata'' is a species of succulent plant native to the western Karoo and Overberg regions of South Africa.Dyer, R. Allen, ''The Genera of Southern African Flowering Plants''. , 1975 Description ''An. lanceolata'' has branchin ...

'' (Haw.) Sweet *''

Anacampseros lanigera ''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 ...

'' Burch. *'' Anacampseros mallei'' (G.Will.) G.Will. *'' Anacampseros marlothii'' Poelln. *'' Anacampseros meyeri'' Poelln. *'' Anacampseros namaquensis'' H.Pearson & Stephens *'' Anacampseros nebrownii'' Poelln. *'' Anacampseros nitida'' Poelln. *'' Anacampseros papyracea'' E.Mey. ex Fenzl *'' Anacampseros papyracea'' subsp. namaensis Gerbaulet *'' Anacampseros paradoxa'' Poelln. *'' Anacampseros parviflora'' Poelln. *'' Anacampseros pisina'' G.Will. *'' Anacampseros prominens'' G.Will. *'' Anacampseros quinaria'' E.Mey. ex Fenzl *'' Anacampseros recurvata'' Schönland *'' Anacampseros recurvata'' subsp. buderiana (Poelln.) Gerbaulet *'' Anacampseros recurvata'' subsp. minuta Gerbaulet *''

Anacampseros retusa ''Anacampseros retusa'' is a species of succulent plant native to the Northern Cape and Western Cape Provinces of South Africa, as well as to Namibia.Dyer, R. Allen, ''The Genera of Southern African Flowering Plants''. , 1975 Description ''An. ...

'' Poelln. *'' Anacampseros rhodesica'' N.E.Br. *'' Anacampseros rubroviridis'' Poelln. *''

Anacampseros rufescens ''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 ...

'' (Haw.) Sweet *'' Anacampseros ruschii'' Dinter & Poelln. *'' Anacampseros schoenlandii'' Poelln. *'' Anacampseros scopata'' G.Will. *'' Anacampseros starkiana'' Poelln. *'' Anacampseros subnuda'' Poelln. *'' Anacampseros subnuda'' subsp. lubbersii (Bleck) Gerbaulet *'' Anacampseros telephiastrum'' DC. *'' Anacampseros tomentosa'' A.Berger *'' Anacampseros truncata'' Poelln. *'' Anacampseros ustulata'' E.Mey. ex Fenzl *'' Anacampseros vanthielii'' G.Will. *'' Anacampseros variabilis'' Poelln. *'' Anacampseros vespertina'' Thulin *'' Anacampseros vulcanensis'' Añon *'' Anacampseros wischkonii'' Dinter & Poelln. File:Anacampseros albidiflora - Witteberge - Copy.jpg, ''

'' File:Anacampseros arachnoidea - Zoo Plzeň, 2.jpg, '' Anacampseros arachnoides'' (

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 ...

) has pink-to-white flowers and compact, ovoid, hairy leaves, each with a minute acuminate spine. File:1 Anacampseros retusa - Ashton 4 - Copy.jpg, ''

'' File:Anacampseros telephiastrum - Bonnievale 3.jpg, ''

'' (

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 ...

) has smooth, hairless, acute-tipped leaves, and a branched inflorescence with broadly ovate petals, 30-45 stamens per flower and angular seeds. 1 Anacampseros filamentosa - Ladismith 2 - Copy.jpg, '' Anacampseros filamentosa'' (

Northern Cape The Northern Cape ( ; ; ) is the largest and most sparsely populated Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley, South Africa, Kimberley. It includes ...

and

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

) has hairy, rounded-truncate leaves and slender elliptic-lanceolate petals on its uniformly pink flowers. File:Anacampseros rufescens kz01.jpg, ''

'' (

Eastern Cape Province 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 ...

) a pink-flowered species. Leaf undersides are usually reddish and it has numerous axillary hairs. File:Anacampseros subnuda, habitus, a, Skeerpoort.jpg, '' Anacampseros subnuda'' has obtuse-tipped leaves, that lose their velt-hair, becoming smooth with age.

Uses and significance

Folk uses and views on the genus are incoherent and regional. Some species are regarded as narcotic or outright poisonous, but tests on sheep gave no positive result and some of the notionally toxic species are used in adulterating beer. Several species have been used in making various forms of beer, but it is not clear what the intended effect might be, although some species appears to have some activity in hydrolysing some carbohydrates. Some species are used as charms and non-specific "medicines".Watt, John Mitchell; Breyer-Brandwijk, Maria Gerdina: The Medicinal and Poisonous Plants of Southern and Eastern Africa 2nd ed Pub. E & S Livingstone 1962

References

Botanica Sistematica

{{Taxonbar, from=Q310563 Caryophyllales genera Anacampserotaceae