Welcome to the November eNews

Good growing from the eNews team!
Brian Ayres (Editor)

Fig. 1 S. coptonogonus (Photo: Graham Charles)

First is the species that is uncluttered by synonyms S. coptonogonus (Fig. 1), described originally by Linnaeus in 1838, and placed in this genus on its original recognition in 1933 by Alwin Berger, a German botanist. It occurs widespread in the Mexican states of Aguascalientes, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Jalisco, San Luis Potosí, and Zacatecas. It is a quite distinct species, usually making a solitary stem to about 10cm tall and wide, differing from the others by its scant number of ribs, only 10 to 15, much wider than the other finer ribbed species. It also has many fewer spines, quite thick in comparison with other species, numbering three to usually seven, short to about 35mm long, the upper one a little longer than the others, all curving slightly back towards the stem. Flowers are white with a central purple mid-stripe. 

Fig. 2 S. crispatus in habitat (Photo: John Pilbeam)

But the next alphabetically is that with the greatest number of other names applied to it over the years, namely S. crispatus (Fig. 2). This was reckoned by Nigel Taylor to apply only to those plants south of the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, ie the states of Hidalgo Mexico, Puebla, Tlaxcala and Oaxaca. It is a multi-ribbed plant, with thirty plus undulating ribs on a stem 8–12cm in diameter, and with four central spines, the upper one thicker and to 2cm or more, and usually six radial spines thin, 5–10 mm long, all white or pale grey. The flowers are pale lilac to white with a purple mid-stripe and base.

Fig. 3 S. multicostatus (Photo: Graham Charles)

S. multicostatus (Fig. 3) is as the name states, one with many ribs, up to as many as 120, making a handsome plant, usually solitary, to about 10cm wide, but in time clustering to form a very handsome plant. It has usually four quite thin radial spines and three centrals a little thicker, white and somewhat curving. Flowers are white to pale pink with a darker purple mid-stripe. It comes from the northern Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Durango, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosí, and Zacatecas. The following names are reckoned to be synonymous with this species: S. lloydii, S. zacatecasensis and Echinofossulocactus erectocentrus.

Fig. 4 S. obvallatus in habitat (Photo: Bill Weightman)

S. obvallatus (Fig. 4) is the name for the plants in the past most confused with S. crispatus, including S. violaciflorus, and Echinofossulocactus caespitosus, E. guerreronis and E. kellerianus. It comes from the Mexican states of Hidalgo, Mexico, Mexico (DF), Querétaro, and maybe Veracruz. It makes usually solitary stems, to about 11cm wide, with from 34 to 56 ribs, thin and wavy. There are usually three or four central spines, one in the middle, stronger and somewhat flattened, and up to six radial spines much thinner, all white to grey. Flowers are white with a central pink mid-stripe.

Fig. 5 S. ochoterenanus in habitat (Photo: Bill Weightman)

S. ochoterenanus (Fig. 5) comes from the Mexican states of Guanajuato, Nuevo León, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, and Zacatecas. It is the spiniest of the genus, with 22 or more long, thin, white radial spines, recurving onto the body protectively, and with four central spines, a little less thin, pale-yellow curling equally protectively around the body, which is usually solitary, to about 10cm wide, and a little less in height. Flowers are pink to pale pink or white with a deep pink mid-stripe.

Fig. 6 S. phyllacanthus (Photo: Graham Charles)

S. phyllacanthus (Fig. 6) comes widespread from the Mexican states of Aguascalientes, Guanajuato, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Querétaro, and San Luis Potosí.  This is one of the most popular species, and the smallest-growing, making a slow, often contentedly solitary stem of about 10cm wide, and a little less in height. It has the attractive wavy, wrinkled ribs of this genus, numbering from 25 to eventually up to 60, with 2–7 radial spines, white at first becoming pale grey, and with three upper centrals, 3–8cm long, the upper one the stronger all reddish brown. Flowers are pale yellow with sometimes the faintest of greyish mid-stripes. It is still quite uncommon in cultivation.

Fig. 7 S. sulphureus (Photo: Bill Weightman)

S. sulphureus (Fig. 7) was described in 1845 as an Echinocactus by Albert Dietrich, a German botanist, and placed in the genus Stenocactus by Helia Bravo Hollis, a Mexican botanist, in 1982. It comes from the Mexican state of Hidalgo, in the Barranca de Toliman. It is the only species with really bright yellow flowers, with the faintest of pale brown mid-stripes. It is described as being solitary, up to 10cm in diameter, with characteristic wavy ribs. There are four minimal radial spines, white tinged brown, and three or four brown centrals, the upper one much thicker. It is still quite rarely seen in cultivation.

Fig. 8 S. vaupelianus (Photo: Bill Weightman)

S. vaupelianus (Fig. 8) from Hidalgo and San Luis Potosí is another yellow-flowered species, but with a much paler yellow, and similar to the previous two species, with a faint mid-stripe to the petals. The stems have 30 to 40 ribs, obscured by a dense covering of spines, with 15 to 25 thin, white, radial spines obscuring the body of the plant, and up to four brown centrals, stronger, but still quite thin in comparison to many other species. In cultivation it will cluster within a few years making a handsome clump to 25–30cm across, and freely producing its flowers on every stem.

I hope this has persuaded my readers to consider growing some of these wonderful, mostly sinuously ribbed plants. They really are a joy to behold and unique in their appearance.

Conophytum meyeri

Conophytum hians

Yellow, white, and violet

Text and photos by Ðoan Tran

It was three years ago that I first saw pictures of flowering mesembs. On social media. Huge flowers on tiny bodies. The flowers are not really sophisticated or exotic but are an absolute present (my mother said). The Lapidaria that I then purchased had a bud so I could watch it getting bigger and witness the opening and closing of the flower for days. Yellow petals with a metallic glow. I think I took a hundred pictures of it and showed them to everyone! Since then, it has never flowered again.

Last year there were five plants that surprised me with flowers. Two Lithops and two Conophytum, all bought a year before, and a tiny flower on a Conophytum that I had grown from seed! I felt proud of the little thing but must confess that I missed the whole flowering process.

This year, however, I paid attention and prepared myself for (as some people call it) a bit of night sniffing. The Conophytum mirabile (also grown from seed, MSG 3655) flowered during the day (Fig. 1). The flower is getting bigger day by day. The bought Conophytum obcordellum (Fig. 2) flowered during the night and smelled delightful. Reminds me of jasmine. 

Fig. 1 Conophytum mirabile

Fig. 2 Conophytum obcordellum

In 2022 I had a new opportunity to see the Conophytum arthurolfago (MSG 3700) bloom. This time I saw the flower opening fully (Fig. 3). I was gifted some Lithops a few weeks ago and they rewarded the good care of the giver with buds and flowers. The Conophytum hians has three times more buds than last year. I love the clustering capacities of Conophytum!   

Fig. 3 Conophytum arthurofalgo

Three years from now I want to have a tapestry with yellow, white, and violet. A blanket of colours that hide the plant bodies from the fleeting eye. The coming months will be my fourth autumn/winter with mesembs, and I learn more and more every time I sow, repot, and ask a question or two. I feel confident that I can provide the conditions for these plants to thrive. Thank you for allowing me to share my novice experiences with you. Hope to talk with you or meet you somewhere soon.      

Editor’s note: This is Ðoan’s last article recounting her experiences along the rocky road from novice to seasoned grower and collector of mesembs and other succulents. Her love for her plants is clearly limitless and we will miss her unmatched enthusiasm. She has been an inspiration to so many of our readers. Thank you, Ðoan! 

Fig. 4 Dorstenia foetida

Fig. 5 Dorstenia barnimiana Photo: Gillian Evison

The key identifying feature of Dorstenia is the flowering structure. This structure is called a hypanthodium, examples of which can be seen in Figs. 6 and 7. These structures look like something from an alien ship and once you’ve seen one, you’ll always be able to identify Dorstenia, as no other succulents have anything similar. If the plants do set seed, be careful, as the seed pods can be explosive potentially showering their contents over nearby pots.

Fig. 6 Hypanthodium of Dorstenia ellenbeckiana

Fig. 7 Hypanthodium of Dorstenia foetida

Originating from Yemen, Socotra and the surrounding Arabian Peninsula, they are a widespread genus that again will benefit from a very free-draining compost. However, some species do need quite a bit of water, Dorstenia hildebrandtii for example. But be warned: too much water and they will rot! They also need heat to ensure winter survival. But given the right conditions, some grower skill and TLC, they can be statuesque. Dorstenia gigas is the iconic and most coveted variety (see Fig. 8).  

Conservation Corner

The illegal trade of wild succulents, particularly Conophytum species, has left some on the brink of extinction. Glenneis Kriel reports on the situation and what farmers can do to help.

Succulent poaching is not a new problem in South Africa; collectors have been stealing our unique plants for decades. However, the scale of the trade in South Africa’s succulent plants is now unprecedented.

It was believed that COVID-19 travel restrictions would lead to a decrease in plant poaching, at least for a while. However, the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa (WWF SA), and the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), have confirmed that the restrictions had the opposite effect.

Paul Gildenhuys, an enforcement specialist at Cape Nature, explains that sophisticated hobbyists used to be the prime perpetrators in the past. They usually came to South Africa, gathered the plants and then smuggled them out when they flew out of the country. Since 2019, however, the trade has become syndicate-driven, with the same organisations involved in rhino, abalone and ivory poaching.

“Syndicates pounced on this opportunity by using their existing networks to satisfy the demand, when collectors were unable to travel internationally,” says Gildenhuys. “Poor locals are mobilised to collect succulents at a pittance of what the end user pays, and instead of the poachers smuggling the succulents out of the country in their luggage, the plants are couriered overseas.”

China is the primary destination of poached succulents. Gildenhuys attributed this to the growth of the Chinese middle and upper classes, in combination with social media posts that generate a greater awareness of these plants and their unusual nature.

“We see attention shifting from one species to another as soon as commercial growers get the hang of producing specific species at scale. Despite this, even when some species are available commercially, some collectors are in search of something that has been rendered unique and strange by nature,” he says.

Whereas succulent poaching incidents used to occur once or twice every second to third year, the situation is now out of control, according to the conservation bodies. The Western Cape had one case in 2018, seven cases in 2019, 41 in 2021 and 36 in 2022. More than 15 cases have been reported in the province since the start of 2023.

Only one arrest was linked to succulent poaching in 2018, but this shot up to 116 in 2021 and 92 in 2022. But it is the quantity of plants stolen that has increased most of all. According to Gildenhuys, the number of seized plants increased from 1 381 in 2018 to over 240 000 in 2022.

SANBI estimates that the percentage of seized plant material in South Africa as a whole has increased by 200% annually over the past four years, and that more than 650 different species and about 1,2 million wild collected plants had been seized by May 2023.

While law enforcement and reporting of the illegal harvesting are making an impact, SANBI suspects that less than 25% of the trade is intercepted by enforcement officials, and more than 1,5 million plants have been removed from the wild over the past three years.

Species affected
The illegal trade is having a destructive impact on various succulent species. Ismail Ebrahim, project manager of Custodians of Rare and Endangered Wildlife at SANBI, says the number of Conophytum species, commonly known as button plants, listed as endangered increased from six in 2019 to 75 in 2022, while those listed as critically endangered increased from 16 to 86.

And where 51 of the plants were listed as “least concern” in 2019, no species remained in this category in 2022.

Ebrahim explains that many of the targeted species are extremely vulnerable because they grow only in the Succulent Karoo biome, stretching from Luderitz in Namibia down to the West Coast of South Africa and eastwards to the Klein Karoo in the Western Cape, and some occur only in single locations in this region.

The Succulent Karoo is home to just under 2 500 succulent plant species, representing around 100 genera found nowhere else on earth.

“With poachers stealing more than a thousand plants at a time, there is a real threat that one poaching incident could obliterate whole species. We’ve had incidents where the number of seized plants was more than we thought occurred in the wild.”

Keeping locations safe
Since the huge spike in poaching incidents, more care has been taken to keep the location of these species hidden and off the Internet. However, the various sources that have been published about South Africa’s succulents make it difficult to keep all these locations safe, says Ebrahim. Ecotourism has been identified as another vehicle for gathering intelligence on the location of plants.

Carl Brown, a compliance specialist at Cape Nature, says ecotourism contributes to succulent poaching because a tourist might innocently post photographs on social media where the location is easily identifiable, or provide a geolocation. Sometimes, collectors themselves will participate in tours to gather locality information for later exploitation.

The situation is exacerbated by what Ebrahim calls “plant blindness”.

“The level of awareness of succulent poaching is not as high as rhino or elephant poaching, as it’s much easier to generate emotion with photos of animals than with photos of plants.”

Katherine Forsythe, the project coordinator for the Leslie Hill Succulent Karoo Trust at WWF SA, says South Africa’s succulent species are not only unique, but many do not occur anywhere else in the world. “These species are often more threatened and certainly worthy of similar attention to [that given to] large mammals.”

Plan of action
Government is aware of the problem, explains Forsythe. To address the situation, the Department of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, with the support of various stakeholders, including SANBI and WWF SA, developed a national response strategy and action plan to combat the illegal trade of succulent flora in South Africa.

Government approved the strategy for implementation in March 2022. It has seven key objectives, ranging from ensuring the long-term survival of succulent populations representative of South Africa, to creating public awareness, to capacitating the enforcement sector to take more effective action against the illegal trade.

As part of the plan, SANBI is monitoring the status of wild-growing succulent species and conducting national conservation assessments to keep red-list status up to date.

Dr Carina Becker Du Toit, scientific coordinator at SANBI, explains that these assessments are important as they are used to rank the importance of seized succulents.

“We’ve been flooded with seized succulents over the past three years, and don’t have the manpower or space to save all the plants.

“We decide which plants to save based on the scarcity, age and size of the location where a plant grows. The system is complicated by the fast rate at which species are changing from not threatened to critically endangered, because of the large number of plants stolen at a time.”

The saved plant material is planted out in pots, with the long-term goal of re-establishing them in the wild. This, however, is far easier said than done, according to Becker Du Toit, as little knowledge is available about the cultivation and growing requirements of the different subspecies.

“While the survival rates of these plants are fairly high in nurseries, most don’t make it when replanted in their original habitat,” she says.

SANBI is also establishing off-site conservation collections that ensure genetically diverse repositories. Ebrahim points out that one of the species that has become extinct in the wild has been preserved this way.

Along with this, Conservation South Africa, as part of a joint project with SANBI, the Botanical Society of South Africa and Wilderness Foundation Africa, is hosting community workshops where members of the community are made aware of the impact of succulent poaching.

Becker Du Toit says succulent poaching threatens not only succulent species, but entire ecosystems due to the interdependence of plants and animal species on one another. In addition, these ecosystems are critical for supporting people’s livelihoods in these arid regions.

Farmer support
How can farmers themselves help to save succulents? Ebrahim identifies access to land to monitor these species as one of their greatest challenges.

“We need to get on farms to see what is growing there and to update red-list species. It’s difficult to spot some of the genetic differences with an untrained eye. So farmers might be totally oblivious of the rarity of the succulents that grow on their farms.”

Ebrahim says he understands that, for security reasons, farmers are hesitant to allow strangers onto their farms. However, SANBI takes great care to treat all its findings as confidential.

While physical visits to monitor the plants are first prize, farmers can assist SANBI to keep track of species by sending the organisation photographs.

Farmers are also encouraged to help combat succulent poaching by reporting suspicious activities to their local stock theft units.

Ebrahim says many poachers have been caught thanks to alerts from members of the public who were concerned about people taking photographs of succulents in isolated areas, or seeing unfamiliar people in areas where they should not be.

It helps if the public are constantly alert to this crime. Some courier companies, for example, helped to catch poachers, when members of their staff noticed the perpetrators using boxes for toys to smuggle succulents to China.

* We were briefed not to mention the names of individual species, not to use place names or photographs that would make it easy to identify the locations of species, and to avoid mentioning prices achieved for these species, as doing so could contribute further to illegal activities.

Read the article on Farmers Weekly:
https://www.farmersweekly.co.za/opinion/by-invitation/how-farmers-can-combat-succulent-poaching/