Lithops lesliei

Lithops lesliei
Lithops lesliei in flower
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Core eudicots
Order:	Caryophyllales
Family:	Aizoaceae
Genus:	Lithops
Species:	L. lesliei
Binomial name
Lithops lesliei

Lithops lesliei is a species of plant in the Aizoaceae family. The plant is under threat due to its medicinal properties.^[1]

Description

Lithops lesliei is found in rocky areas of grasslands and Savannah where it grows in the shade of another plant.

Distribution

This species can be found in the summer-rainfall areas of South Africa although it is not endemic. The plants have recently seen a 15% cut in numbers with predictions that this trend will continue. The plants are being taken to sell in markets for medicinal reasons. The plant continues to be seen in many places but a loss of habitat and predation in urban areas places this as a threatened species in South Africa.^[1]

Cultivation

It is commonly used as a houseplant or for landscaping. Like all Lithops, it requires extremely well-drained soil. Like all Lithops it also grows in annual cycles, as the leaf-pairs flower, and then each produces a new leaf-pair that replaces the old one (which shrivels away). The principal rule of watering is that Lithops should be kept dry from when they finish flowering, up until the old leaf-pairs are fully replaced.

Of the Lithops species, L. lesliei is one of the species which is most tolerant of occasional incorrect watering, and therefore among the easiest to cultivate (together with L.salicola, L.hookeri and L.aucampiae).

References

1. Williams, V.L., Raimondo, D., Crouch, N.R., Cunningham, A.B., Scott-Shaw, C.R., Lötter, M., Ngwenya, A.M. & Mills, L. 2008. Lithops lesliei (N.E.Br.) N.E.Br. subsp. lesliei. National Assessment: Red List of South African Plants version 2012.1. Accessed on 2013/01/08