Disphyma crassifolium, commonly known as round-leaved pigface[2] or salty fingers[3] is a species of flowering plant in the family Aizoaceae native to Australia and the Cape Provinces of South Africa. It is a prostrate, succulent annual shrub or short-lived perennial plant with stems up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) long, leaves that are three-sided in cross-section with a rounded lower angle, and purple daisy-like flowers with staminodes up to 30 mm (1.2 in) long.
| Round-leaved pigface | |
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| Disphyma crassifolium | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Aizoaceae |
| Subfamily: | Ruschioideae |
| Tribe: | Ruschieae |
| Genus: | Disphyma |
| Species: | D. crassifolium
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| Binomial name | |
| Disphyma crassifolium | |
Description
editDisphyma crassifolium is a prostrate, succulent, annual or short-lived perennial shrub that typically grows to a height of 2–30 cm (0.79–11.81 in) and has stems up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) long. Its leaves are club-shaped, more or less round to three-sided in cross-section, 5–70 mm (0.20–2.76 in) long and 1–7 mm (0.039–0.276 in) wide. The flowers are 20–50 mm (0.79–1.97 in) wide with a perianth tube 6–12 mm (0.24–0.47 in) wide, the longer lobes 2–30 mm (0.079–1.181 in) long with purple, petal-like staminodes 110–30 mm (4.3–1.2 in) long that are white on the lower surface. Flowering mainly occurs from October to February and the fruit is a conical capsule that is about 10 mm (0.39 in) long and wide before opening.[2][4]
Taxonomy
editDisphyma crassifolium was first published in 1753 as Mesembryanthemum crassifolium by Carl Linnaeus in Species Plantarum from species collected in southern Africa.[5][6][7] In 1925, Nicholas Edward Brown raised the genus Disphyma in The Gardeners' Chronicle[8] and in 1927 Harriet Margaret Louisa Bolus moved Linnaeus's M. crassifolium into the new genus as Disphyma crassifolium in the botanical magazine Flowering Plants of South Africa.[9]
In 1803, Adrian Hardy Haworth described Mesmbryanthemum clavellatum in his book Miscellanea Naturalia, sive Dissertationes Variae ad Historiam Naturalem Spectantes from plants raised from seed collected in Australia by Robert Brown.[10] In 1976, Robert Chinnock moved M. clavellatum to the genus Disphyma as D. clavellatum in the New Zealand Journal of Botany.[11][12] Then, in 1986, John Peter Jessop reduced Disphyma clavellatum to a subspecies, Disphyma crassifolium subsp. clavellatum in Flora of South Australia,[13] a name accepted by the Australian Plant Census and Plants of the World Online.[14][15]
Distribution and habitat
editDisphyma crassifolium is widely distributed in South Africa and Australia. It grows in saline areas such as coastal dunes and samphire flats, and tolerates a range of soils including sand, loam and clay.[2][4]
References
edit- ^ "Disphyma crassifolium". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
- ^ a b c Venning, Julianne. "Disphyma crassifolium". Australian Biological Resources Study, Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment: Canberra. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
- ^ "Salty Fingers (Disphyma crassifolium) Identification".
- ^ a b "Disphyma crassifolium (L.) L.Bolus". FloraBase. Western Australian Government Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions.
- ^ "Mesembryanthemum crassifolium". APNI. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
- ^ Linnaeus, Carl (1753). Species Plantarum. p. 484. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
- ^ Haworth, Adrian H. (1803). Miscellanea Naturalia, sive Dissertationes Variae ad Historiam Naturalem Spectantes. London: J. Taylor. p. 78. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
- ^ "Disphyma". APNI. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
- ^ "Disphyma crassifolium". APNI. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
- ^ Haworth, Adrian H. (1803). Miscellanea Naturalia, sive Dissertationes Variae ad Historiam Naturalem Spectantes. London: J. Taylor. p. 79. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
- ^ "Disphyma clavellatum". APNI. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
- ^ Chinnock, R. J. (March 1976). "Studies in Disphyma — a genus related to Mesembryanthemum: 2. Infraspecific subdivision of Disphyma australe and notes on the Australian species of Disphyma". New Zealand Journal of Botany. 14 (1): 78. doi:10.1080/0028825X.1976.10428653.
- ^ "Disphyma crassifolium subsp. clavellatum". APNI. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
- ^ "Disphyma crassifolium subsp. clavellatum". Australian Plant Census. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
- ^ "Disphyma crassifolium subsp. clavellatum (Haw.) Chinnock". Plants of the World Online. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
