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Lithops
Also called Pebble Plants, Stonefigs, Stoneplants
Lithops is a genus of small succulents from southern Africa, known as living stones, that look like pebbles to avoid being eaten. Most commonly grown members are kept as houseplants or in succulent collections, and the key to growing them is strong sun, very well-drained soil, and careful watering that follows their seasonal cycle.
Lithops is a genus of succulent plants in the ice plant family, Aizoaceae. Members of the genus are native to southern Africa. They avoid being eaten by herbivores with their camouflage as small stones, and are often known as pebble plants or living stones.
"Lithops" is both the genus name and the common name, and is singular as well as plural. The name is derived from the Ancient Greek words λίθος (líthos) 'stone' and ὄψ (óps) 'face', referring to the stone-like appearance of the plants.
Lithops are popular house plants and many specialist succulent growers maintain collections. Seeds and plants are widely available in shops and over the internet. They are relatively easy to grow and care for if given sufficient sun and kept in well-draining soil. Normal treatment in mild temperate climates is to keep them completely dry during winter, watering only when the old leaves have dried up and are replaced by a new leaf pair. Watering continues through autumn, when the plants flower, and then stops for winter. The best results are obtained in an environment with additional heat such as a greenhouse. In hotter climates, Lithops will have a summer dormancy when they should be kept mostly dry, and they may require some water in winter. In tropical climates, Lithops can be grown primarily in winter with a long summer dormancy. In all conditions, Lithops will be most active and need most water during autumn and most species will flower at approximately the same time.
Lithops thrive best in a coarse, well-drained substrate.
Lithops occur naturally across wide areas of Namibia and South Africa, as well as small bordering areas in Botswana and possibly Angola, from sea level to high mountains. Nearly a thousand individual populations are documented, each covering just a small area of dry grassland, veld, or bare rocky ground. Different Lithops species are preferentially found in particular environments, usually restricted to a particular type of rock. Lithops have not naturalised outside this region.
Lithops karasmontana · Lithops lesliei · Lithops olivacea · Lithops optica · Lithops pseudotruncatella · Lithops salicola
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Lithops by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
