Lunaria

Life-forms

Classification System: APG IV

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

Familia: Aizoaceae
Subfamilia: Ruschioideae
Tribus: Ruschieae
Genus: Lithops
Species: Lithops lesliei
Subspecies: L. l. subsp. burchellii – L. l. subsp. lesliei
Name

Lithops lesliei (N.E.Br.) N.E.Br., 1922
References

Brown, N.E., Gard. Chron. ser. 3, 71:65. 1922

Links

Hassler, M. 2018. Lithops lesliei. 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 online. Accessed: 2018 Jul. 10. Reference page.
International Plant Names Index. 2018. Lithops lesliei. Published online. Accessed: Jul. 10 2018.
The Plant List 2013. Lithops lesliei in The Plant List Version 1.1. Published online. Accessed: 2018 Jul. 10.
Tropicos.org 2018. Lithops lesliei. Missouri Botanical Garden. Published online. Accessed: 10 Jul. 2018.
USDA, ARS, Germplasm Resources Information Network. Lithops lesliei in the Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Accessed: 09-Oct-10.

Lithops lesliei is a species of plant in the family Aizoaceae. The plant is threatened 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.
Botanická zahrada Praha
Lithops lesliei var. venteri v Botanické zahradě v Praze
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). This plant is a recipient of the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.[2]
References

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
"Lithops lesliei". www.rhs.org. Royal Horticultural Society. Retrieved 23 October 2020.