Cleretum bellidiforme

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Plantae
Cladus: Angiosperms
Cladus: Eudicots
Cladus: Core eudicots
Ordo: Caryophyllales

Familia: Aizoaceae
Subfamilia: Ruschioideae
Tribus: Dorotheantheae
Genus: Cleretum
Species: Cleretum bellidiforme
Name

Cleretum bellidiforme (Burm.f.) G.D.Rowley, 1979.
Synonyms

Cleretum criniflorum (L. fil.) N. E. Br.
Cleretum cuneifolium (Jacq.) N. E. Br.
Cleretum flos-solis (A. Berger) G.D. Rowley
Cleretum limpidum (Ait.) N. E. Br.
Cleretum muirii (N.E. Brown) G.D. Rowley
Cleretum oculatum (N.E. Brown) G.D. Rowley
Dorotheanthus acuminatus L. BoI.
Dorotheanthus bellidiformis (Burm. fil.) N.E. Br.
Dorotheanthus bidouwensis L. Bol.
Dorotheanthus criniflorus (L. fil.) Schwant.
Dorotheanthus flos-solis (Berger) L. Bol.
Dorotheanthus hallii L. Bol.
Dorotheanthus littlewoodii L. Bol.
Dorotheanthus luteus N.E. Br.
Dorotheanthus martinii L. Bol.
Dorotheanthus muirii N. E. Br.
Dorotheanthus oculatus N.E. Br.
Dorotheanthus oculatus var. saldanhensis L. BoI.
Dorotheanthus stayneri L. Bol.
Dorotheanthus ulularis F. A. Brusse
Mesembryanthemum bellidiforme Burm. fil.
Mesembryanthemum criniflorum L. fil.
Mesembryanthemum cuneifolium Jacq.
Mesembryanthemum flos-solis A.Berger
Mesembryanthemum limpidum (Soland.)
Mesembryanthemum spathulatum Willd.
Micropterum cuneifolium (Jacq.) Schwant.
Micropterum limpidum (Ait.) Schwant.
Stigmatocarpum criniflorum (L. fil.) L. Bol.

Distribution
Native distribution areas:

Continental: Africa
Regional:Southern Africa
South Africa (N-Cape Prov., W-Cape Prov.)

References: Brummitt, R.K. 2001. TDWG – World Geographical Scheme for Recording Plant Distributions, 2nd Edition
References

Rowley, G.D., 1979. Baileya 20: 139.

Links

Hassler, M. 2018. Cleretum bellidiforme. World Plants: Synonymic Checklists of the Vascular Plants of the World In: Roskovh, Y., Abucay, L., Orrell, T., Nicolson, D., Bailly, N., Kirk, P., Bourgoin, T., DeWalt, R.E., Decock, W., De Wever, A., Nieukerken, E. van, Zarucchi, J. & Penev, L., eds. 2018. Species 2000 & ITIS Catalogue of Life. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Jul. 06. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2018. Cleretum bellidiforme. Published online. Accessed: Jul. 06 2018.
Govaerts, R. et al. 2018. Cleretum bellidiforme in Kew Science Plants of the World online. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Jul. 06. Reference page.
Tropicos.org 2018. Cleretum bellidiforme. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published on the internet. Accessed: 2018 Jul. 06.

Vernacular names
svenska: Stor doroteablomma

Cleretum bellidiforme,[2] commonly called Livingstone daisy, Bokbaaivygie (Afrikaans), or Buck Bay vygie, is a species of flowering plant in the family Aizoaceae, native to the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. It is a low-growing succulent annual growing to 25 cm (10 in), and cultivated for its iridescent, many-petalled, daisy-like blooms in shades of white, yellow, orange, cream, pink and crimson. In temperate areas it is popularly grown as a half-hardy annual, and lends itself to mass plantings or as edging plants in summer bedding schemes in parks and gardens. It is still widely referenced under its former names, Mesembryanthemum criniflorum and Dorotheanthus bellidiformis.[3][4][5]

Description

Cleretum bellidiforme is a winter growing annual with green or slightly maroon leaves. Leaves are flat and rounded at the tip, with notably bladder shaped cells on the leaf surface that give the leaves a reflective quality. These cells are used to store water, which classifies the plant as a succulent. The plant usually forms a stout groundcover, but its flowers may reach up to 25 cm (10 in). Flowers are solitary and brightly colored with many narrow petals. The flowers open in bright sunlight, and are up to 30 millimetres (1.2 in) in diameter. Stamens are maroon with purple or yellow anthers, and are found in the center of the flower in rows. The ovary is inferior to the stamens. Fruits are a five compartmented capsule that expands in wet weather, revealing the very small, smooth, light brown seeds.[6]
The many colors of Livingstone daisy
Taxonomy

The species was first described by Nicolaas Laurens Burman in 1768, as Mesembryanthemum bellidiforme.[7][8] It was later transferred from Mesembryanthemum to Dorotheanthus and then to Cleretum. It has been synonymized with five species initially described in Mesembryanthemum (e.g. Mesembryanthemum criniflorum) and nine originally described in Dorotheanthus (e.g. Dorotheanthus ulularis).[1]

Dorotheanthus was named by Gustuv Schwanthes after his mother, combining her name with anthus, Greek for flower.[9]
Infraspecific variability

Cleretum bellidiforme exists in a vast number of colour forms, with each restricted to a particular locality, and lacking any distinct differences from each other beyond flower colour.[9] There was, however, formerly one subspecies which remained recognised amongst many synonyms, Dorotheanthus bellidiformis subsp. hestermalensis Ihlenf. & Struck, 1986, which was easily distinguished by its extremely small size, with tiny pink flowers and only a few tiny leaves,[9] and which had a more northerly distribution in (northernmost) Western Cape and Northern Cape;[10][11] as of 2012 it has been raised to species level as C. hestermalense (Ihlenf. & Struck) Klak.[2][12]
Distribution

C. belliforme is restricted to the winter rainfall regions of western South Africa,[9] where it chiefly grows in the western half Western Cape. In the Northern Cape it is restricted to the desert lands bordering Western Cape northwest of the Cederberg, and inland from the southern stretch of the Atlantic coast. The distribution is patchy, not continuous.[10]

It is very common in Bokbaai where it is found flowering in great numbers in spring.[9]
Ecology

It is adapted to disturbed sand, such as found on riverbanks or desert dunes; the small flat seeds easily slip deeper in loose sand out of the summer sun. It is also found on clay slopes, limestone ridges and granite outcrops. It is very short-lived, the seeds germinating with the first autumn rains, and growing and flowering from late winter to spring (July to October).[6][9] It grows in fynbos and succulent karoo. It sometimes grows together with low-growing Oxalis and Senecio. It is sometimes found as a solitary plant, in other areas in large colonies.[6]
Cultivation

This is a well-known and popular garden annual in many areas around the world, available with flowers in numerous colours. It is found listed under a number of synonyms in seed catalogues. Seeds can be sown in a cold frame. Former subspecies C. hestermalense is difficult to germinate, these germinate best when kept hot and dry over the summer.[9]
Names

C. bellidiforme was named the Livingstone daisy by seed-seller Samuel Ryder in 1928, after explorer David Livingstone.[13]

In South Africa it is usually known as Livingstone daisy when sold in the horticultural trade. Common vernacular names for the wild plants are bokbaaivygie in Afrikaans, or Bok Bay vygie or Buckbay-vygie. Less common are sandvygie, skilpadkos (turtle food) or ysplant (ice plant).[9]
Conservation

According to the Red List of South African plants its status is Least Concern (LC) as of 2017.[6]
References

"Cleretum bellidiforme (Burm.f.) G.D.Rowley". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
Klak, Cornelia; Bruyns, Peter V. (2012). "Phylogeny of the Dorotheantheae (Aizoaceae), a tribe of succulent annuals". Taxon. 61 (2): 293–307. doi:10.1002/tax.612002. ISSN 1996-8175.
RHS A-Z encyclopedia of garden plants. United Kingdom: Dorling Kindersley. 2008. p. 1136. ISBN 978-1405332965.
"Cleretum bellidiforme". Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). Retrieved 2018-01-21.
"Dorotheanthus bellidiformis (Burm.f) N.E.Br". PlantZAfrica. Retrieved 2015-08-16.
"Cleretum bellidiforme | PlantZAfrica". pza.sanbi.org. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
"Mesembryanthemum bellidiforme Burm.f." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
Burman, Nicolaas Laurens (1768). "Mesembryanthemum bellidiforme". Flora Indica: Prodromus Florae Capensis. Leiden; Amsterdam: Cornelius Haak; Johannes Schreuder. p. 15. Retrieved 2019-03-26.
Smith, Gideon F.; Chesselet, Pascale; van Jaarsveld, Ernst J.; Hartmann, Heidi; Hammer, Steven; van Wyk, Ben-Erik; Burgoyne, Priscilla; Klak, Cornelia; Kurzweil, Hubert (1998). Mesembs of the World. Pretoria: Briza Publications. pp. 70–73. ISBN 978-1-875093-13-7.
"Cleretum bellidiforme (Burman f.) G.D.Rowley". GBIF Backbone Taxonomy, Checklist dataset (Data Set). GBIF Secretariat. 2017. doi:10.15468/39omei. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
"Cleretum hestermalense (Ihlenf. & Struck) Klak". GBIF Backbone Taxonomy, Checklist dataset (Data Set). GBIF Secretariat. 2017. doi:10.15468/39omei. Retrieved 19 February 2019.
"CJB - African plant database - Detail". African plant database. Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques & South African National Biodiversity Institute. 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2019.
Bill Neal (1992). Gardener's Latin. London: Robert Hale. p. 17. ISBN 0709051069.