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Lithops bromfeldii var. insularis C043 15 km West of Keimoes, South Africa
Face opaque slightly rugose with channels reduced to mini-windows. Shoulders, margins and islands orange-brown. Windows and channels transluscent reddish-brown with dull blood-red rubrications.
 

Lithops bromfieldii comprises several more or less intergrading and distinct variety:

• Lithops bromfieldii var. bromfieldii L. Bolus (1934) Cole numbers: C040, C041, C279, C348, C368
  Medium sized with a bullate top surface and generally reddish coloured. The face has impressed valley-like channels and raised islands, sometimes indistinct and reduced to vague prominences with bold rubrications, sometimes scattered with dots, hooks and dashes in the channels. Margins are irregularly incise dentate or sinuate, with peninsulas. Windows partially closed or accasionally completely open. Shoulders, margins and islands pale pinkish yellow, deep cream, pale orange-yellow or pinkish grey, the margins sometimes a little deeper in colour. Windows and channels various shades of transluscent brownish or reddish green, greenish red or dull greyish green. Rubrications bright to dark-blood red, orange-red. Dusky dots dull dark greyish green.

• Lithops bromfieldii var. glaudinae (H.W. de Boer) D.T. Cole (1960) Cole numbers: C116, C382, C393
  Medium sized characterized by many dusky dots with a shining metallic reflex. The face is opaque, more or less translucent and smooth with narrow, irregular channels, numerous, small, irregular islands with indistinct flecks composed of small opaque dots. The margins with small irregular peninsula are quite indistinct. Rubrications partially visible, sometimes with longer lines forming a sparse broken network. Shoulders, margins and islands as for the margins opaque light honey, pinkish brown or light orange-brown. Windows and channels transluscent dull green, dark greenish brown or greenish red. Rubrications dull blood-red.

• Lithops bromfieldii var. insularis (L. Bol) B. Fearn (1960) Cole numbers: C042, C043, C057
  Small to medium sized intermediate form between var. bromfieldii and var. mennellii and often similar to var. glaudinae but without lustrous dusky dots. Face opaque, transluscent; slightly rugose, margins indistinct, irregularly dentate with mostly small peninsulas. Windows usually occluded. Channels broad to narrow, sometimes reduced to mini-windows; often with lines tailing off into the margins. Islands fairly small, irregular or reduced to indistinct flecks. Rubrications often forming a broken network. Shoulders, margins and islands orange-brown, pinkish, yellowish, greenish or brownish grey or greyish brown. Windows and channels transluscent greenish red, reddish green, brown or greenish grey. Rubrications bright to dull blood-red, purplish red. Dusky dots dull dark greenish grey. as for the margins or a little lighter.

• Lithops bromfieldii var. mennellii (L. Bol) B. Fearn (1937) Cole numbers: C044, C283
  Medium sized form with rugose surface, pinkish-grey facial colour and very dark rubrications .Channels deeply impressed which branch and tail off into the marginal area and encloding airly large, raised islands and peninsulas. Margins and windows vaguely distinguishable. Rubrications filling the channels in anirregular network of lines, dots, hooks and dashes. Face and shoulders pinkish grey, creamy grey, greenish grey or light milky grey. Channels dull dark greyish green; it is often difficult to distinguish between the channels and concentrations of dusky dots. Rubrications dark red, red-brown or purplish red. Dusky dots dull dark greyish green.

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Lithops bromfieldii var. insularis C043 15 km West of Keimoes, South Africa

Scientific name: Lithops bromfieldii var. insularis (L. Bol) B. Fearn 1960

Origin:  South Africa, Cape province. It is found in a very small area within 5 km on both sides of the Orange River, to the NE and E of Keimoes.

Typical locality:  The typical locality (TL) is an island (near) Keimoes, in the Orange River'.

Habitat: Grows in stonily soils comprising Feldspathic quartzite; sheared pegmatite. Colours of the stony background greyish brown, pink, brown.

Etymology: From Latin "insularis" pertaining to the island'.

Synonyms:

• Lithops insularis Bolus

Common English Names include: Stone plant,  Living stone.
 

Description: Lithops bromfieldii is a non-halophyticmedium sized Lithops, mostly about 25 X 20 mm with up to 10 or more heads, (mostly 2-4)
Body (paired leaves): Obconical, truncate, top surface slightly convex and bullate generally reddish coloured. The face is elliptical to kidney-shaped more or less equal with impressed valley-like channels and raised islands, and bold rubrications. The fissure is shallow, 4-8 mm; lobes conjunct. This species is characterized by impressed valley-like channels, raised islands, and bold rubrications and is quite variable
Flowers: Yellow, small to large 25-35(-45) mm in diameter. Seeds yellow-brown, rugose.
This species is quite variable and the colours and face pattern varies in plant from different provenance.

In the winter season the plant doesn’t need watering, the plant in this time extracts water from the outer succulent leaves, allowing them to shrivel away, relocating water to the rest of the plant and to the new leaves that form during this period. This plant is best for a well lit area (Bright shade to full sun). Water sparingly only when warm, no water when cold.

This is a beautiful pale selected cultivated form with Grey/brown/orangish top, marked with distinct reddish or brownish lines and spots (see: surface pattern) and exhibiting a strong border.

Cultivars:

• Lithops bromfieldii var. bromfieldii cv. 'White Nymph' Japanese cultivar obtained byYasuhiko Shimada with white flowers, but otherwise indistinguishable from the type variety.

• Lithops bromfieldii var. insularis cv. 'Sulphurea' Cole number C362 Japanese cultivar obtained by Yasuhiko Shimada characterized by a creamy yellowish-green colour. The Latin name “sulphurea” means 'sulphur-coloured'. In Japan this form is known as 'Ki-Meigen'.

• Lithops bromfieldii var. mennellii "pale selection" Selected cultivar from Mesa Garden Nursery characterized by a paler creamy colour of the island, but otherwise indistinguishable from the type variety.

Photo of conspecific taxa, varieties, forms and cultivars of Lithops bromfeldii.

• Lithops bromfeldii var. insularis
• Lithops bromfeldii var. insularis C043
• Lithops bromfeldii var. insularis cv. sulphurea C362
• Lithops bromfeldii var. mennellii (Pale selection)

All the information and photos in cactus art files are now available also in the new the Encyclopaedia of Succulents. We hope you find this new site informative and useful.