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Lithops optica is a critically endangered living-stone succulent from the coastal Lüderitz area of Namibia, adapted to winter rainfall. Success depends on very well-drained mineral soil, strong sun, and keeping it dry during its annual replacement-leaf cycle.
Lithops optica is a species of plant in the family Aizoaceae, endemic to Namibia.
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.
This species occurs in the coastal areas around Lüderitz, Namibia. This is a very arid "mist-belt" area, with winter rainfall but extremely dry conditions. It is therefore one of the few species of Lithops which is adapted to a winter rainfall climate. Its natural habitat is sandy soil in rocky areas.
Lithops karasmontana · Lithops lesliei · Lithops olivacea · Lithops pseudotruncatella · Lithops salicola · Living Stones
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Lithops optica 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.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
