Dinteranthus vanzylii
| Light | Very bright light to full sun; a sunny windowsill or bright greenhouse |
|---|---|
| Water | Very sparingly; keep dry through the summer rest and while old leaves are drying |
| Soil | Extremely gritty, lean mineral mix (see Soil and potting mix) |
| Temperature | Keep frost-free and dry in winter; mild warmth suits it best |
| Propagation | Seed (see Propagation — seed) |
| Toxicity | Not known to be toxic to cats or dogs |
Dinteranthus vanzylii is a small, stemless living stone from the arid interior of southern Africa, so convincingly like a Lithops that it was once described under that name. Each plant is a pair of fat, fused leaves with flattened grey-white tops patterned by fine reddish, channelled markings, and in autumn it produces relatively large yellow daisy-like flowers from the slit between the leaves.
Description
Dinteranthus vanzylii forms a solitary body — occasionally a small clump — made of a single pair of very succulent leaves fused into a rounded, top-shaped unit a few centimetres across. The upper faces are almost flat and pale, chalky grey to bone-white, and it is this pale surface, etched with sunken reddish lines and dotted channels, that mimics a weathered pebble so effectively. Unlike Lithops, which store much of their pigment and windowing in translucent leaf-tips, Dinteranthus tend to be more uniformly pale and lack the greenish body colour, giving them their characteristic bleached look.
Each growing season the plant renews itself: a fresh leaf pair swells up inside the old one, which shrivels to a papery sheath and is gradually absorbed. The bright yellow flowers open in the afternoon over several days in late summer or autumn, and are large relative to the modest body.
Distribution and habitat
The species is native to the dry western interior of South Africa, in the arid Northern Cape, within the Bushmanland region of the Nama Karoo. It grows in open, sun-baked quartz and gravel flats, wedged among stones where its pale, patterned tops blend almost perfectly with the surrounding pebbles — a camouflage that protects it from both drought and grazing.
These are true desert plants adapted to very low, seasonal rainfall, intense light and sharply draining, nutrient-poor mineral ground.
Cultivation
Dinteranthus vanzylii is prized by mesemb enthusiasts but has a reputation for being less forgiving than the closely allied Lithops, chiefly because it resents any excess water. Grow it in a very lean, almost entirely mineral mix in a deep-enough pot, in the brightest position you can offer — strong light keeps the body compact and well-marked, while shade causes it to bloat and split.
Watering must follow the plant's rhythm rather than the calendar. Water lightly only during its active growth in the cooler part of the year, and keep it completely dry through its summer dormancy and, crucially, while the old leaf pair is drying up and being reabsorbed. Watering during that changeover is the quickest route to a rotted or grotesquely doubled-up plant. Overfeeding likewise ruins the natural markings, so keep it lean. See Watering and Repotting for general technique.
Propagation
Seed is the standard and most reliable method. Fine seed is sown on the surface of a gritty mix and kept lightly humid and warm until germination, after which the tiny seedlings are grown very hard and dry to build resilience. Because plants are usually solitary or slow to cluster, vegetative propagation is uncommon. See Propagation — seed for a full walkthrough.
Common problems
- Rot and splitting — nearly always from watering during dormancy or during the leaf changeover; the body goes soft, translucent or bursts.
- Stacked or doubled bodies — too much water or feed makes the plant retain old leaves and pile up unnaturally, losing its neat pebble form.
- Etiolation and loss of markings — insufficient light bleaches and swells the body and washes out the fine reddish channels.
- Pests — mealybugs (including root mealybugs) and, in stagnant conditions, sciarid fungus gnats around the roots.
See also
- Dinteranthus — the genus overview
- Lithops — the closely related and very similar living stones
- Soil and potting mix · Watering · Propagation — seed · Repotting · Pests and diseases