Another tylecodon

[ianstrutt]

This one a very recent purchase. Labelled as t. striatus but I’m 99% sure that’s not the case. Stem reminds me of wallichii, which I’ve been looking for for ages, but again I don’t think it’s that.

Does anyone have any ideas? Could be a small grandiflorus now I think about it.

[TomInTucson]

This one a very recent purchase. Labelled as t. striatus but I’m 99% sure that’s not the case. Stem reminds me of wallichii, which I’ve been looking for for ages, but again I don’t think it’s that.

Does anyone have any ideas? Could be a small grandiflorus now I think about it.

IMG_9938.jpeg

I've grown Tylecodon striatus for many years. Their leaves are thin with a groove on the top, and are somewhat club shaped. Your's could indeed be a T. grandiflorus, but that image alone does not offer very much in the way of ascertaining a positive ID.

[ianstrutt]

Thanks for your reply Tom. I also grow t. striatus, and had always assumed the name comes from the slightly streaked pattern on the stems. I guess it's actually the thin leaves with a groove down the middle?

[Tina]

lovely plant , what a Nice buy. Ian,

[TomInTucson]

When I 1st saw the image you posted, it reminded me of a pair of plants I bought in '04 from the long gone Great Petaluma Desert. They were sold as T. stenocaulis. The owner said he had 2 forms. One met the description accurately, but the other looked like the one you posted. A few months later after purchasing the book Cotyledon and Tylecodon (Van Jaarsveld and Koutnik), I discovered that the nonconforming plant was likely to be a T. ventricosus. Having not thought about this for nineteen years, was the reason I didn't ID it initially.

Here is my conclusion: T. striatus is very similar to T. stenocaulis, and indeed striatus means striate (striped). If your T. striatus looks like the one you posted, it likely is T. ventricosus, which is my best guess for now.

[ralphrmartin]

In my experience, T. grandiflorus usually doesnt have such prominent persistent leaf bases, and tI'd suggest hat your plant might be T. ventricosus. Let's see if Derek chips in with his opinion...

[ianstrutt]

I also have a plant labelled tylecodon ventricosus DT6144b East Garies that doesn’t look anything like this. Looking at google images of the species it does seem pretty variable though.

The other thought I had was t. hirtifolium, but my plant of that has much thicker, more succulent leaves. This was just before it came out of dormancy this year.

I do own the very same book Cotyledon and Tylecodon, but as to where it is currently is another matter entirely.

[Apicra]

Ian's first photo above is probably T. ventricosus, which is very widespread and variable and intergrades with T. striatus. These share a similar tubular flower, but T. ventricosus consistently flowers earlier (late spring) than the generally thinner T. striatus (summer). Both are vigorous growers and will need pruning to keep in a pleasing shape, but cuttings root easily.

T. stenocaulis is very different, smaller and slower with very thin stems and late dark-purple flowers.

'Prominent persistent leaf bases'? These are stem out-growth so the botanical term 'phyllopodia' applies.

Best wishes,
Derek Tribble

[Stuart]

Most of my Tylecodons have come over the years from Derek or Terry Smale, Derek started by interest in them with the 'twigs' from 'Tribble Trove'. To find out more about 'Tribble Trove', I'd recommend the Judges Course or the Haworthia Convention.
I've two of Derek's T.Striata,

This one above with Derek's label has thicker stems and has the ref DT5966 from Moutonsberg It's the same clone as the original plant in Ian's photo.

The other has thinner stems and Derek's label shows DT5302A from Vanrhynspas.
I showed a couple of photos of T.Racemosus here a while ago and it seemed that they were the same species from different locations. Unless the labels were in the wrong plants originally, this can happen when people pick up a label to read it and then put it back in the wrong plant, it seems this is like Racemosus and can vary with location. The 5966 flowered in July this year when I was on holiday so I've not seen it flower.

Stuart

[ianstrutt]

Thanks everyone for your replies - looks like ventricosus is the best guess.

I have a stenocaulis in bud at the moment- much later than most other flowers.

The only other one at the moment in bud is labelled sinus-alexandri (from you Ralph I believe?). Llifle tells me that’s synonymous with schaeferianus - is that the case?