Pleiospilos

Morphological Summary

Pleiospilos is a small genus of perennial succulents in the Aizoaceae family that produces highly succulent leaf-bodies, typically in pairs, with a grey-green or brownish appearance that closely mimics the quartz rocks among which it grows. The genus name derives from the Greek pleios (many) and spilos (spot), referring to the numerous dark dots that mark the leaf surface. They bear conspicuous, daisy-like flowers in yellow-orange or white that open by day from the central fissure between the leaves. They represent a paradigmatic example of lithomorphic mimicry in the arid and semi-arid shrublands of southern Africa.