African Wildlife & Environment Issue 81

GARDENING FOR BIODIVERSITY

grey or greyish-green leaves, often with red margins, are frequently carried close to the ground. Although the leaves are rounded or disc-shaped in most varieties, in a few they are cylindrical and finger- like while those of one cultivar even resemble stag antlers. Young leaves usually have an attractive, waxy covering which reflects the sun’s rays so reducing transpiration and water loss. Some may have a velvety feel to the touch. Reference is made to the shape of the leaves in the species name, orbiculata , which in Latin means round. Likewise, the leaves give rise to the common name of Pig’s Ears, as well as to one of the Afrikaans

C. barbeyi , which is a tropical species reaching right up to Ethiopia and Arabia. While some botanists consider C. orbiculata to be the most variable plant species in all of southern Africa, it certainly holds that distinction within the Cotyledon genus, the most obvious differences between the varieties being evident mainly in the leaf and flower shape. Derived from the Greek, kotyle, which means cavity or small cup, the genus name Cotyledon refers to the shape formed by the leaves of newly germinated plants of some species. Part of the Crassulaceae family (crassus means thick in Latin), many of these fleshy plants, especially the deciduous ones, have been transferred from Cotyledon to the closely related genus Tylecodon . Interestingly, this name is an anagram of Cotyledon! The plants remaining in the genus Cotyledon are all evergreens. C. orbiculata is generally shrubby with a thick stem, which is sometimes woody at the base. While specimens may reach 1.5 meters, the plant is usually much smaller. Its clusters of decorative, thick, fleshy, Sunbirds, such as the Greater Double-collared Sunbird, find Cotyledon orbiculata flowers irresistible. (Photograph H Chittenden.)

names, Hondeoor (Dog's Ear). The most frequently used Afrikaans name, Plakkie, derives from a Dutch word meaning disc or patch and may also relate to the shape of the leaves. Because it is so variable and widespread, C. orbiculata has been given a host of other common names across the country such as Bergbessie, Kooltrie, Kouterie and Beesbulk. One of the most interesting is Pêpê. This is said to be linked to olden-day hunters using the flower-stalks, like a flute, to make a sound resembling that of a young klipspringer. Any adult coming to investigate the sound became an easy target. Also fond of Cotyledon orbiculata flowers, is the Southern Double-collared Sunbird with its narrower band of red. (Photograph H Chittenden.)

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