February 24, 2018

Titanopsis calcarea in bloom

Here's a weird plant with a pretty flower.

These are one-year-old Titanopsis calcarea that I grew from seed. They're native to arid parts of South Africa and do a good job of blending in with rocky soil. For scale, the blooming one is 1 inch across.

I thought the genus name was some botanist's joke because of how titanic they aren't, but it actually comes from the Greek titanos (limestone) plus opsis (looking like). They're a member of family Aizoaceae, which includes ice plant (ubiquitous along California freeways), New Zealand spinach, and the even more pebbly-looking Lithops.