The Flickr Livingstones Image Generatr

L is for Lithops. These are among my favorite plants, as it is fascinating to watch them grow. Also know as living stones, they are native to the arid regions of South Africa. They have evolved to look like stones so that animals don’t eat them. They have two fleshy leaves that look like rocks. The two leaves split, and a new set of leaves emerges. The water in the old leaves feed the new ones, and then the old leaves dry up. You can see the dried up remains in a couple of them. They are a bit tricky to take care of, because if you water them at the wrong time you can kill them. You do not water them when they are splitting and the others only get watered every two weeks or less. They are in a very loose, well draining soil called “Jack’s Gritty Mix”. I bought these last April and they are “babies”. They range in size from 1 to 1.5 centimeters (1/2 inch), and mature ones are 2 to 4 inches in diameter. They bloom once a year, but not until they are several years old. I started out with 14, and am down to 12, so I consider that a success. There is one in the picture, just above the green one, that I’m not sure whether it is dead or alive. It’s tiny and wrinkled. I’ll find out eventually. I’m including two closeups in the comments so you can get a better look at the individuals.

Photos taken on our visit to Tucson Botanical Gardens on November 22, 2024
Fiesta de los Animales, a collection of folk-art animal sculptures, is open through April 30 2025.
RAW file processed with RAWTherapee
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One more shot of the beautiful Livingstone's Turaco.

živé kameny - umění vytvořené z kamene / living stones - artworks made from stone
Dendrologická zahrada Průhonice / Průhonice dendrological garden
author: Jan Helebrant
location: Prague, Czech Republic
www.juhele.blogspot.com
license CC0 Public Domain Dedication