Willem says: 'The Phyto-Philes are for plant lovers of every size and shape, colour and flavour. As with my Colours of Wildlife column, I'll be featuring one species per article, illustrated with sketches, paintings, and/or photos. Over time I hope to be showcasing the amazing diversity of weird and wonderful plants that occur in South Africa, while also from time to time looking at the flora of other countries. While featuring many spectacular species, I'll not be neglecting the smaller, more humble kinds that are nevertheless fascinating in their own right.'

Today I bring you a very humble plant, an Adromischus umbraticola! This species doesn't have a common name in English, although in Afrikaans we call the group 'Brosplakkies' ('Brittle Tackies'). This refers to the ease with which their leaves drop off. The scientific name comes from Greek; 'Adromischus' means 'thick-stemmed' and 'umbraticola' means 'staying in the shade'.

Actually this species doesn't always stay in the shade. In nature they can be found growing out in the open as frequently as growing in light shade, usually beneath a small shrub or herb. This is a species I've seen in the wild a lot, from the mountains here around Polokwane to the Suikerbosrand region around Heidelberg. I have two varieties, the northern one which has mostly greyish-green leaves, tending to turn red towards the tips in the sun (the one in my drawing), as well as the southern version which has whiter leaves, sometimes with small spots (the one in my photo). They generally grow on hills or mountain slopes, in shallow soil that accumulates between cracks in rocks. This is a small species, rarely exceeding 10 cm/4" in height. They grow slowly and the thick, rather gnarly stems only form after many years.

Adromischus plants are not visually very striking … they are, in habitat, easily overlooked. But when you spot them and get down and give them a good look they're actually very charming little plants! They all have succulent leaves, these having a variety of shapes, colours and markings. The species umbraticola has relatively plain leaves compared to many of the other species, but they, too, can be pretty with a red blush or fine red spots. Their gnarly stems can give them a bonsai-like appearance. They have small flowers, but these can be prettily coloured in pinks and purples in some species. They are long, tubular and pollinated by small insects. There are about twenty known species of Adromischus, all of them from South Africa and Namibia. They are close relatives of the tackies, kerky bushes and beestebal plants of the genus Crassula, as well as of the genera Cotyledon, Kalanchoe and Tylecodon.

This is one of the easiest of the Adromischus species to grow. It can tolerate moderate frost, the forms from the Witwatersrand region being especially cold-hardy. It can also withstand overwatering better than the other Adromischus, but does best with modest watering year-round. These plants can be kept indoors, but do need a bit more light than other house plants, so in front of a large window would be a good place, or on a verandah.

The wonderful thing about Adromischus plants is the ease with which they can be grown from leaves! The round leaves detach very easily, sometimes at a light touch. But sometimes they need to be wriggled a bit. Be careful when detaching them; try to get the entire leaf – if you are not careful it can break off just above the leaf base. But it might work even then. Still, getting an entire leaf is best. Choose the large, old leaves towards the bottom of the stem for best results. Don't defoliate your plant completely! Be patient; just gather a few leaves at a time. Every leaf can become a new plant from which later you can gather more leaves. If you look at my photo, at the front you’ll see an old leaf that has dropped, rooted and sprouted into a few new leaves, and just behind it on the left another rooted leaf with one small new leaf. In nature of course this is a reproductive strategy; established plants will drop the older leaves all around their bases, where they can easily root and form new plants, and so clumps can multiply. Animals that step on them or eat them will also knock off leaves that can then grow into new plants.

Let the leaves dry out for a while before you plant them – say, three days to a week. That gives time for callus tissue to grow at the tender tip, protecting it from infections. Prepare soil to plant them in … a fairly shallow container with well-draining, sandy soil with a bit of compost works well. Insert the leaves upright with the bottom about a quarter of an inch/6 mm or so into the soil, spaced about 2.5 cm/1" apart. Here you see a number of leaf cuttings, of three different kinds of Adromischus, that I’ve planted recently, to give you an idea. Keep them moist but not wet from here on … actually, you can allow the medium to dry out in between waterings. The leaves that are still alive after two weeks will likely make it! Now watch … it will take a month or few before new plantlets will form and you'll see their tiny leaves emerging around the bases of the planted leaves. The first leaves are flattish but they plump up soon. Let your plants grow for a year or two before planting them out individually. Adromischus plants are slow-growing and need several years to become nice, small specimens.

You can also grow Adromischus plants from stem cuttings. It takes a long time for the stems to grow long and to start branching, but when they do, you can cut off sections and plant them. Let these dry out for a week or two before planting, and it is a good idea to dust the bottom with flowers of sulphur or a fungicide just after you cut it, to protect it from fungal infections.

Adromischus plants need little care. A little bit of well-drained soil, a bit of light, and a bit of watering every two weeks or so is sufficient. If you grow them outside, just watch because sometimes they are attacked by plant lice. The lice usually go only for the inflorescence, leaving the leaf rosettes alone. Squirt some soapy water onto the plants to deter them. Adromischus umbraticola are long-lived plants, and the challenge is to try and grow a large, many-branched specimen. When you succeed with this species, by all means try to grow some of the other easy species like Adromischus cooperi and Adromischus cristatus. The most difficult ones are the Adromischus marianae complex, which rot very easily, but are some of the most delightful ones with leaves that may be round, elongated, warty, red to green or with beautiful mottling. You should be able to get Adromischus species from nurseries that go in for succulents … they are grown all over the world.

Colours of Wildlife Archive

Willem

06.01.14 Front Page

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