Frithia
Frithia pulchra
Frithia is a plant genus of the family of Mesembryanthemum plants ( Aizoaceae ). The botanical name of the genus honors Frank Frith ( 1872-1954 ).
Description
The plants of the genus Frithia are sunk into the soil and grown in compact rosettes of up to 30 millimeters diameter. The change-constant leaves are club-shaped and have an almost flat top, on which there is a clear window. Their rough surface is almost entirely coated with a wax layer.
The individual, usually seated flowers reach a diameter of up to 35 millimeters. There are five unequal sepals present, which are fused into a short, cup-shaped tube. The numerous purple to white petals are arranged in several whorls and fused together at the base. The filiform staminodes surround three circles with stamens. The five-segment scar has short, sharply pointed carpels.
The plants bloom in her home during the months of October to February. The flowers open in the late morning and close in the late afternoon.
The yellow to ocher-colored fruits are fünffächrig and in profile circular to ovate. They contain small brown and rough seeds.
Systematics and distribution
The distribution of the genus Frithia extends into South Africa from the eastern part of the North West Province to the west of the province of Gauteng. The plants grow on gravelly plains with weathered quartz or sandstone. The rainfall in summer is 700 to 800 millimeters.
The first description of the genus was published in 1925 by Nicholas Edward Brown. The type species is Frithia pulchra. After Heidrun Hartmann ( b. 1942 ), the genus Frithia includes the following two ways:
- Frithia humilis P.M.Burgoyne
- Frithia pulchra N.E.Br.