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Notes for the Genus:
Conophytum
Conophytum are a group of miniature succulents prized by enthusiasts for their wide variety of forms, textures, and colors. Typically, they form clusters or grow in mats but some species are solitary. Bodies can be conical, oblong, or cylindrical, spotted or lined, velvety, warty, or windowed, and range in color from various shades of green and blue-green to brown and red. Some species are mistaken for lithops. Anatomically, they are distinguished by conically united leaves and by their petals, which are fused into a basal tube, unlike most mesembs. Most conos flower in the autumn and display a rainbow range of colors. They can be divided into night-blooming, twilight-blooming, and day-blooming species. The flowers of some species are also scented. The plants are winter growers, meaning they are active in autumn and winter. By spring, they begin to form a dry, papery husk from which new bodies will emerge the following autumn. Plants in their dormant phase can be somewhat disconcerting to growers because they may appear to have given up the ghost while they are in fact quite healthy. The speed with which some go dormant is often an unnecessary cause for alarm. Conophytum are found in the arid and semi-arid winter rainfall areas of South Africa (the Northern Cape Province, the Western Cape Province, and the western part of the Eastern Cape Province) and southern Namibia.
