Plants That Look Like Rocks

Discovery

• Lithops were first noticed in 1811 when William John Burchell picked up an odd-looking rock while exploring southern Africa. He saw it wasn't a rock at all; it was a plant. They were an oddity for the next century, but finally treated seriously by N.E. Brown, Ph.D., who named them Lithops in 1922. Since their discovery, Lithops are sought as interesting specimen plants by Europeans and Americans.

Various Habitats

• Lithops grow wild in a variety of habitats but prefer rocky terrain away from other vegetation. Some varieties are adapted to cooler temperatures and thrive 8,000 feet above sea level. However, most are better adapted to the heat and tolerate temperatures of 120 degrees. There are hundreds of species of lithops, but most areas contain only one species and its subspecies.

Unique Adaptations

• Lithops and similar succulents adapt to barren surroundings. They have various methods of beating the heat. When growing in desert conditions, the majority of lithop is under the soil's surface with only two small leaves visible. This protects it from drying, hot winds. All gas exchanges occur underground. Photosynthesis is made possible by a system of windows at the surface bouncing the sun's rays to inside of the plant using calcium oxalate crystals.

Cultivation

• Growing lithops is similar to growing succulents or cacti. They require a well-drained soil and careful watering. Four to five hours of bright sunlight is necessary. These plants require pots significantly larger than their surface size indicates, as they have extensive root systems. Beginning in March, water lithops by drenching the soil when the leaves begin to shrivel. Allow the soil to dry completely, and then water again in about three days. When the plant begins its dormancy in November, stop watering mist the plant once every two weeks.