Ruschioideae

Subfamily: Ruschioideae (mesems in part)

Life > eukaryotes > Archaeoplastida > Chloroplastida > Charophyta > Streptophytina > Plantae (land plants) > Tracheophyta (vascular plants) > Euphyllophyta > Lignophyta (woody plants) > Spermatophyta (seed plants) > Angiospermae (flowering plants) > Eudicotyledons > Core Eudicots > Order: Caryophyllales > Family: Aizoaceae

The subfamilies Mesembryanthemoideae and Ruschioideae make up the group of succulents loosely termed the mesems that in some classifications are placed in a separate family, the Mesembryanthemaceae. In this classification they are placed in the Aizoaceae because evidence suggests that mesems were derived from within this group (see under Aizoaceae for more information).

Genera native to southern Africa

Based on information from Chesselet et al. (2000).

Apatesia group

Apatesia Three species, endemic to the Western Cape.
Carpanthea One species: Carpanthea pomeridiana, endemic to the Western Cape.
Caryotophora One species: Caryotophora skiatophytoides, endemic to a small region near Cape Agulhas in the Western Cape.
Conicosia Two species, native to Namibia, the Western Cape and Northern Cape.
Hymenogyne Two species, endemic to the Western Cape.
Saphesia One species: Saphesia flaccida, endemic to the sandy plains in the Malmesbury and Clanwilliam districts of the Western Cape.
Skiatophytum One species: Skiatophytum tripolium, endemic to the Western Cape.

Cleretum group

Aethephyllum

One species: Aethephyllum pinnatifidum, endemic to the Western Cape.

Cleretum

Three species, endemic to the Western and Northern Cape.

Dorotheanthus

Seven species, endemic to the Western and Northern Cape.

Mitrophyllum group

Dicrocaulon Seven species, native to Namaqualand.
Diplosoma Two species, endemic to the Western Cape.
Disphyma Four species, native to South Africa, Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand, with two species native to South Africa (found along the coast in the Western and Eastern Cape).
Glottiphyllum Sixteen species, native to the southern parts of South Africa, especially in and around the Little Karoo.
Hammeria Two species, native to the Tanqua and Ceres Karoo in the Western and Northern Cape.
Jacobsenia Three species, native to Namaqualand in the Vanrhynsdorp and Vredendal vicinity.
Meyerophytum One species: Meyerophytum meyeri, native from the Richtersveld to southern Namaqualand.
Mitrophyllum Six species, endemic to the Richtersveld in the Northern Cape.
Monilaria Five species, endemic to Namaqualand.
Oophytum Two species, endemic to the quartz fields on the Knersvlakte north of Vanrhynsdorp in the Western Cape.

Delosperma group

Corpuscularia Eight species, endemic to the Eastern Cape.
Delosperma About 163 species, with 147 species native to South Africa. The remaining species occur in East Africa, Ethiopia, Arabia and the Yemen.
Drosanthemum A total of 109 species, native to Namibia and western, southern and central South Africa.
Gibbaeum Seventeen species, native mainly in the vicinity of the Little Karoo, but the distribution does extend into the Northern Cape.
Malephora Sixteen species, endemic to southern Africa, found mainly in karroid areas.
Mestoklema Six species, endemic to southern Africa.
Muiria One species: Muiria hortenseae, endemic to the Barrydale district, Western Cape.
Oscularia Twenty-three species, native to the fynbos of the Western Cape, extending slightly into the Northern Cape.
Trichodiadema Thirty-two species, native to the arid and semi-arid regions of Namibia and South Africa.

Stomatium group

Chasmatophyllum Eight species, sparsely distributed over Namibia and South Africa.
Faucaria Eight species, native to the Eastern Cape thickets as well as the karoo, South Africa.
Frithia Two species, native to the summer rainfall region of South Africa.
Mossia One species: Mossia intervallaris, native to the summer rainfall region of South Africa, and Lesotho.
Neohenricia Two species, native to the Northern Cape, Free State and the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Orthopterum The two species are found in subtropical thickets of the Eastern Cape.
Peersia Three species: Peersia frithii, Peersia macradenia and Peersia vanheerdei. Native to the Western Cape, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape, South Africa.
Rabiea Six species, native to the Eastern Cape, Free State and Northern Cape.
Rhinephyllum Ten species, native to the karoo, South Africa.
Stomatium Thirty-nine species, native to the arid and semi-arid regions of South Africa.

Titanopsis group

Aloinopsis Eight species, native to the karoo, South Africa.
Deilanthe Three species, native to the karoo, South Africa.
Didymaotus One species: Didymaotus lapidiformis, native to the Tanqua karoo, Western Cape.
Dinteranthus Six species, native to the Northern Cape and southeastern Namibia.
Ihlenfeldtia Two species, native to the quartzitic soils of the Northern Cape.
Lapidaria One species: Lapidaria margaretae, native to southern Namibia and the Northern Cape.
Lithops Thirty-seven species, native to southern Africa, excluding Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.
Nananthus Six species, native to the southern Africa interior.
Schwantesia Eleven species, native to the Northern Cape and southern Namibia.
Tanquana Three species, native to the Tanqua Karoo and adjacent karoo areas in the Western Cape.
Titanopsis Three species, native to Namibia, Northern Cape and Free State.
Vanheerdea Two species, native to the Northern Cape, South Africa.
Zeuktophyllum Two species, native to the areas around Ladismith and Laingsburg in the Western Cape, South Africa.

Dracophilus group

Conophytum One hundred and three species, endemic to the semi-arid and arid winter-rainfall regions of South Africa, including the Northern Cape (Namaqualand, Richtersveld and Bushmanland), Western Cape (Little Karoo and southern margins of Great Karoo), and just extending into the western parts of the Eastern Cape.
Dracophilus Two species, endemic to Namibia and the Northern Cape, with a distribution extending from Lüderitz to the Richtersveld.
Hartmanthus Two species, endemic to the arid Richtersveld (Northern Cape, South Africa) and the Sperrgebiet (Namibia).
Jensenobotrya One species: Jensenobotrya lossowiana, endemic to Namibia, occurring in the desert between Lüderitz and Walvis Bay.
Juttadinteria Five species, endemic to the Northern Cape and Namibia, mainly from Lüderitz to the northern Richtersveld.
Namibia Two species, endemic to the Lüderitz vicinity in Namibia.
Nelia Two species, endemic to the Northern Cape, South Africa (Richtersveld and Namaqualand).
Psammophora Four species, endemic to Namibia and the Northern Cape (South Africa), with a distribution extending from Lüderitz to the Richtersveld.
Ruschianthus One species: Ruschianthus falcatus, endemic to a small area in southern Namibia.

Bergeranthus group

Bergeranthus Ten species, all endemic to the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Bijlia Two species, endemic to the Western Cape, occurring in the vicinity of Prince Albert.
Carruanthus Two species, endemic to the Western and Eastern Cape (South Africa), occurring in the vicinity of Willowmore which lies near the border between these two provinces.
Cerochlamys Three species, endemic to the Western Cape (South Africa), occurring in rocky crevices and shaly places in the Little and Great Karoo.
Hereroa Twenty-seven species, endemic to arid and semi-arid regions of southern Namibia, and South Africa.
Machairophyllum Four species, endemic to the Western and Eastern Cape (South Africa), occurring mainly in the Little Karoo.
Rhombophyllum Five species, native mainly to subtropical thicket vegetation in the Eastern Cape, but the genus has also been recorded from the south-eastern Northern Cape.

Lampranthus group

Antegibbaeum One species: Antegibbaeum fissoides, endemic to the Little Karoo, Western Cape.
Braunsia Six species, endemic to karroid regions of the southwestern parts of South Africa.
Carpobrotus (sour figs) Seven of the 13 species are native to southern Africa, occurring mainly along the coast. Beyond southern Africa, there is one native species in the USA, one in South America and four in Australia. Southern African species are cultivated in climatically suitable regions worldwide.
Circandra One species: Circandra serrata, endemic to the Western Cape, South Africa.
Enarganthe One species: Enarganthe octonaria, endemic to the Richtersveld in the Northern Cape, South Africa.
Erepsia Thirty-one species, endemic to the winter-rainfall regions of the Western and Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Esterhuysenia Five species, endemic to mountainous regions of the Western Cape.
Lampranthus Species total 195, all endemic to southern Africa, occurring in a broad band from southern Namibia, round the coast to the border between Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
Namaquanthus One species: Namaquanthus vanheerdii, endemic to Namaqualand in the Northern Cape.
Scopelogena Two species, endemic to the Western Cape.
Smicrostigma One species: Smicrostigma viride, endemic to arid areas north of the Langeberg and Outeniqua Mountains in the Western and Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Vlokia Two species: Vlokia ater and Vlokia montana, endemic to an area near Montagu in the Western Cape.
Wooleya One species: Wooleya farinosa, endemic to the Namaqualand coastal plain (Northern Cape, South Africa).

Ruschia group

Acrodon Six species, endemic to the Western and Eastern Cape, South Africa.
Arenifera Four species, endemic to the Northern Cape and Western Cape, South Africa.
Astridia Twelve species, endemic to the Northern Cape (South Africa) and southern Namibia.
Brianhuntleya One species: Brianhuntleya intrusa, endemic to the Worcester-Robertson Karoo, Western Cape, South Africa. The species was previously placed in the genus Ruschia.
Ebracteola Four species, endemic to southern Africa, occurring over a fairly wide region of Namibia and South Africa.
Khadia Six species, endemic to southern Africa, occurring in the North-West, Gauteng, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.
Marlothistella One species: Marlothistella stenophylla, endemic to the Little Karoo in the Western Cape, South Africa.
Polymita Two species, endemic to northern Namaqualand (Northern Cape, South Africa).
Ruschia A total of 213 species, endemic to southern Africa, widespread in this region but absent from Limpopo, Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal.
Stayneria One species: Stayneria neilii, endemic to the Western Cape, South Africa, occurring along the Breede River valley.

Leipoldtia group

Antimima A total of 104 species, endemic to southern Africa.
Argyroderma Eleven species, endemic to the Knersvlakte in the Western Cape, South Africa.
Cephalophyllum Thirty-three species, endemic to Namibia and South Africa (Northern Cape and the Western Cape).
Cheiridopsis Thirty-three species, endemic to Namibia and South Africa (Northern Cape and the Western Cape), with the main concentration of species in Namaqualand.
Cylindrophyllum Five species, endemic to South Africa (Western, Northern and Eastern Cape), with the main concentration of species in the Little Karoo.
Fenestraria One species: Fenestraria rhopalophylla, native from Lüderitz in Namibia to the Richtersveld in the Northern Cape, South Africa.
Hallianthus One species: Hallianthus planus, native to Namaqualand (Northern Cape, South Africa) and in the Tanqua Karoo of the Western Cape.
Jordaaniella Six species, endemic to Namibia and South Africa (Northern Cape and Western Cape).
Leipoldtia Twelve species, native to Namibia and South Africa (Northern Cape, Western Cape and Eastern Cape), but most species occur in the Richtersveld vicinity.
Octopoma Nine species, endemic to South Africa (Namaqualand, Northern Cape, and Little Karoo, Western Cape).
Odontophorus Four species, endemic to the Northern Cape, South Africa.
Ottosonderia Two species, endemic to Namaqualand (in Northern and Western Cape, South Africa).
Pleiospilos Four species, endemic to Western, Eastern and Northern Cape, South Africa, occurring mainly in the Little Karoo.
Schlechteranthus Two species, endemic to the Richtersveld, Northern Cape, South Africa.
Vanzijlia One species: Vanzijlia annulata, endemic to the Northern and Western Cape, South Africa.

Eberlanzia group

Amphibolia

Five species, endemic to Namibia and South Africa (Northern Cape and Western Cape).

Eberlanzia

Eight species, endemic to the southern Namib Desert (Namibia) and western Namaqualand (Northern Cape, South Africa).

Stoeberia

Six species, endemic to Namaqualand (Northern Cape, South Africa) and Namibia.

Uncertain placement

Calamophyllum

Three species: Calamophyllum cylindricum, Calamophyllum teretifolium, Calamophyllum teretiusculum

Phiambolia

Eight species, endemic to the Western Cape and Northern Cape, South Africa. Some of the species in this genus were previously in Lampranthus and Ruschia.

Ruschiella

Four species, endemic to the Western Cape.

Publications

Chesselet, P., Smith, G.F., Burgoyne, P.M., Klak, C., Hammer, S.A., Hartmann, H.E.K., Kurzweil, H., van Jaarsveld, E.J., van Wyk, B-E. & Leistner, O.A. 2000. Mesembryanthemaceae. In: Seed Plants of Southern Africa (ed. O.A. Leistner). Strelitzia 10: 360-410. National Botanical Institute, Pretoria.