Delosperma prasinum flower

The succulent leaves of Delosperma prasinum grow in opposite pairs that emerge from stem tips. The pairs are slightly fused at the base, the leaf shape oblong and triangular, deeply keeled. In picture the leaf colour is yellowish green, faintly mottled from water storage cells. Prasinus means green in Latin.

The solitary flowers have short stalks bearing leaf-like bracts. The five sepals are unequal, two being larger. A yellow-tipped cone of stamens and staminodes forms the flower centre. About two rows of small, paddle-shaped petals spread around the flower centre. Beige to peach-coloured with white near the base on the flower in the photo, the petals may also be oblong and coloured in various shades of pinkish purple (Smith, et al, 1998).