Dinteranthus


Dinteranthus is a genus of plants in the family Aizoaceae. It occurs in the arid northwestern parts of the Northern Cape Province, South Africa and the south-eastern parts of Namibia.

Description

The plants are mesembs, and resemble those genera within the family Aizoaceae to which they are most closely related; namely Lithops, Lapidaria and Schwantesia, although they require even less water and have a distinctive keel along the lower leaf surface. Unlike Lithops, Dinteranthus have smaller seeds, no taproot, and shallow fibrous roots.
The genus name of Dinteranthus is in honour of Kurt Dinter, a German botanist and explorer in South West Africa and the Greek word 'anthos' meaning flower.

Species

Dinteranthus contains the following accepted species:
ImageScientific nameDistribution
Dinteranthus inexpectatus Namibia
Dinteranthus microspermus Namibia
Dinteranthus pole-evansii Cape Provinces
Dinteranthus puberulus Cape Provinces
Dinteranthus vallis-mariae Namibia.
Dinteranthus vanzylii Cape Provinces
Dinteranthus wilmotianus Cape Provinces