Seedlings

iann · Post by **iann** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 5:36 pm

I love growing from seed and I look forward to the seedlists that come out each year. The Mesemb Study Group usually has interesting stuff and here are some of their offerings that I sowed in February.

Lithops pseudotruncatella ssp volkii, classic robust yellow flowered Lithops seedlings.

Lithops fulviceps var laevigata, also yellow flowers but not such large flat plants as L. lesliei and L. pseudotruncatella and it shows in the seedlings.

Lithops ruschiorum var lineata, more yellow flowers but different again. Very large seedlings, possibly they just like the warmth and humidity of the propagator.

Lithops amicorum, newest and smallest species, but the seedlings are as large as any other white flowered species.

Lithops olivacea makes the little balls characteristic of the YWC group of species.

Dinteranthus vanzijlii adults look a lot like Lithops and are closely related, but the seedlings have a very different sparkly texture.

Conophytum burgeri, even more sparkly.

All these photos show just the cotyledons. The two seed leaves are closely fused in these species and remain for several months before the first pair of true leaves breaks through. So no patterns on the Lithops although they do will slowly develop some colour approximating the adult plants.

Post by **CoronaCactus** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 6:01 pm

Cool!
It's funny how the little lithops seedlings look alot like the larger form. Unlike most cacti, the seedlings look nothing like their larger forms.

peterb · Post by **peterb** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 6:56 pm

looking great Ian, thanks for posting those.

peterb

lordarutha · Post by **lordarutha** » Tue Mar 18, 2008 8:48 pm

Nice work Ian, do you microwave your soil before sowing?

Mark · Post by **Mark** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:07 am

Cool seedlings Ian. They look good.

Mark

iann · Post by **iann** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 10:23 am

Yes, I microwave the soil before I sow, then I seal them up in plastic. Lithops come out a few weeks after germination so I could get away without the microwave but it helps to stop the soil going green.

Its easier for a leaf succulent to look like an adult with just seed leaves

To some extent it is the adult looking like the seed leaves. Adult Lithops are a highly reduced plant with just two leaves fused together. Other mesembs have very similar seed leaves, but then grow up into normal plants with stems and multiple leaves.

Tony · Post by **Tony** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:47 pm

Very interesting Iann,
Are the "little sparkle's" in the cells of the plants, or is it just light reflecting off the shiney, bummpy surfaces?

I have seen sparkle's, like very fine glitter, in the skin's of some of my mamm,s, do they serve a purpose?

iann · Post by **iann** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:56 pm

A common feature of mesembs, not Lithops though, are water filled cells on the outside of the leaves. These are the sparkles, they are individual cells although you can see them quite clearly. These are the ice in Iceplants, where they are developed into prominent glistening papillae all over the leaves. In other species they become long and thin and give the appearance of hairs. If you handle many of these species roughly then your hands will get wet!

Post by **daiv** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 1:56 pm

No doubt that is the same thing on this little invasive species I found covering the ground in Baja?

iann · Post by **iann** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 4:31 pm

Mesembryanthemum crystallinum, possibly the most widespread mesemb in the world. And its an annual! Very glistening species, made very obvious by the large leaves. It has especially developed papillae along the leaf edges and they contrast strongly with the red colouring that develops most strongly at the edges of the leaves. Its quite rare in cultivation, annual, small white flowers, and really quite a messy plant unless it is beaten into submission by intense sun and saline soils.

Post by **daiv** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 8:24 pm

Soundslike the succulent equivelent to a Dandelion...

mendel · Post by **mendel** » Fri Mar 21, 2008 4:26 am

Very nice iann, a healthy green to be sure. I hear tell of some lithops, rabia, and Titanopsis that might survive a winter run here if they are in the right spot in the yard.

http://hometown.aol.com/fitzroya/kachina.html

top work!

best regards,

mendel

iann · Post by **iann** » Fri Mar 21, 2008 2:48 pm

Have you been for a visit? Plenty of mesembs thrive in the ground in Colorado, not just those mentioned. Try Denver Botanical Gardens for dozens of examples.

I imagine Lithops would be tricky, just because of their extremely low water needs. Lithops habitats rarely get even half the precipitation of Colorado Springs, plus hotter temperatures, stronger sun especially in winter, and all with drainage as good as any you could make yourself. Some species can certainly take the cold, many almost certainly can't.