Ruschia geminiflora
Common name
Loose-flowered pigface, purple vygie
Synonyms
Mesembryanthemum geminatum Jacq. (later homonym), not of Haw. (1803), Mesembryanthemum geminatum Salm-Dyck, Mesembryanthemum geminiflorum Haw.; Echinus geminatus L. Bol.Has been known in NZ as Ruschia tumidula (Haw.) Schwantes, but this is a different species.
Family
Aizoaceae
Flora category
Vascular – Exotic
Structural class
Herbs - Dicotyledons other than Composites
Conservation status
Not applicable
Brief description
Sub-shrub with succulent leaves and bright mauve-purple flowers
Distribution
Occasional escape from cultivation in coastal dunes, perhaps from garden refuse
Habitat
Coastal dunes
Detailed description
Succulent sub-shrub with weak branches rooting at nodes where they touch the ground. Leaves triquetrous, green, apically recurved. Flowers paired or in cymes, petals purple; filaments white, purple in the middle, anthers pale. Not known to establishing from seed in the wild in NZ.
Similar taxa
Numerous other ‘succulents’ in F. Aizoaceae, including in the genera Ruschia and Lampranthus.
Flower colours
Violet/Purple, White
Propagation technique
Easy by cuttings or rooted layered pieces
Year naturalised
1981 (recorded as R. tumidula)
Origin
Western Cape, South Africa