LITHOPS STEMS AND THEIR AGE IN HABITAT by Roy A. Earle

摘要

Lit hops as a genus is usually perceived as having stemless plants. However, it was well illustrated by Piccione (2012) that in some taxa such as L.julii subsp.fulleri the persistent old leaves will force the heads of double headed plants apart thus forming a stem between the roots and the base of the leaves. Some single headed individuals such as L.marmorata var. elisae were also illustrated as having a stem since they often retain the old leaves. Due to the harsh natural conditions in habitat (e.g. wind and sand erosion), most individual Lithops plants in habitat do not retain their old leaves for lengthy periods and this phenomenon is not often seen.