Frithia
Frithia is a small genus of clustering, window-leaved succulents in the ice-plant family Aizoaceae, native to a limited area of northern South Africa. The plants form tight rosettes of erect, club-shaped leaves whose flat, translucent tips sit at soil level — living "windows" that let light down into the buried leaf body, much like their better-known relatives Fenestraria. Compared to Fenestraria, the leaves of Frithia are more squarely truncate and the flowers more vivid and showier, in bright magenta or clean white with a pale centre. The genus is affectionately known by the common names fairy elephant's feet and window plants.
Description
Frithia plants are dwarf, more or less stemless succulents that clump slowly into small mats. Each rosette is made of a few to many upright, cylindrical to club-shaped leaves, broadest and flat-topped at the tip and tapering toward the base. The truncate leaf ends are semi-transparent windows: in habitat the leaf sits mostly buried, so that only these flat tops show at the surface, admitting light to the photosynthetic tissue below while the soil shelters the plant from heat and grazing.
The daisy-like flowers are large for the size of the plant and open by day in the warmer months. Depending on the species they are bright magenta-pink with a white eye, or white with a paler centre, and they emerge singly from between the leaves. The genus is small, containing only two accepted species — Frithia pulchra (magenta-flowered) and Frithia humilis (smaller, with white flowers).
Distribution and habitat
Frithia is endemic to South Africa, where it grows in a restricted region of the interior, chiefly in Gauteng and the neighbouring North-West and Mpumalanga provinces. Plants occur on shallow, gritty, quartz-rich soils and rocky flats, often in exposed positions where the buried, window-tipped habit is a clear adaptation to intense sun and a marked wet-and-dry seasonal rhythm. Some populations are naturally very localised, and habitat pressure means the genus is of conservation interest in the wild; cultivated, seed-grown plants are the responsible way to grow it.
Notable species
- Frithia pulchra — the classic "fairy elephant's feet", with vivid magenta flowers bearing a white centre; the most widely grown species.
- Frithia humilis — smaller and more compact, with white flowers and a yellowish centre; a more restricted, less common plant in cultivation.
Cultivation
Frithia asks for the same care as most window-leaved mesembs: strong light and a lean, sharply drained home. Grow it in a gritty, mostly mineral mix with plenty of coarse sand or grit, in the brightest position you can give it — insufficient light makes the leaves stretch, lose their neat truncate shape and lift out of the soil. Unlike some winter-growing mesembs, Frithia is a summer grower: water it during the warm months when it is in active growth, always letting the mix dry between waterings, and keep it much drier and cooler through winter to prevent rot.
The chief risk in cultivation is overwatering, especially in cool or dull conditions, which quickly causes the buried leaf bases to soften and rot. Keep plants well ventilated, protect them from hard frost, and err on the side of dryness. See Watering and Repotting for general technique.
Propagation
Seed is the usual and most reliable method. The fine seed is sown on the surface of a gritty, moist mix and kept warm and humid until the tiny seedlings appear; they are grown on slowly with careful watering. Established clumps can sometimes be divided, but Frithia resents root disturbance, so division is best done cautiously as plants come into their summer growth. See Propagation — seed and Propagation — offsets for fuller walkthroughs.
See also
- Fenestraria — the closely related "baby toes" genus with rounder windows and smaller flowers
- Aizoaceae — the ice-plant family
- Soil and potting mix · Watering · Repotting · Propagation — seed