Fenestraria
| Fenestraria | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Fenestraria rhopalophylla | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Core eudicots |
| Order: | Caryophyllales |
| Family: | Aizoaceae |
| Genus: | Fenestraria |
| Species: | F. rhopalophylla |
| Binomial name | |
|
Fenestraria rhopalophylla |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Fenestraria aurantiaca |
|
Fenestraria aurantiaca
Fenestraria (known as babies' toes or window plant) is a (possibly monotypic) genus of succulent plants in the family Aizoaceae, native to the Namaqualand in Namibia.
The currently recognised species in this genus is Fenestraria rhopalophylla. Each leaf has a epidermal window, a transparent window-like area, at its rounded tip, it is for these window-like structures that the genus is named (Latin: fenestra).
F. rhopalophylla appears very similar to Frithia pulchra, though the leaves are a slightly different shape and F. rhopalophylla has yellow flowers, compared to the pink flowers of F. pulchra.
In the wild, the plant commonly grows under sand, except for the transparent tips, which allow light into the leaves for photosynthesis. The plant produce optical fibers made from crystalline Oxalic acid which transmit light to subterranean photosynthetic sites.
Fenestraria rhopalophylla is native to Namaqualand in southern Africa and to Namibia. The plants generally grow in sandy or calciferous soils under low < 100 mm rainfall, that occurs in the winter.
The status of Fenestraria aurantiaca is under review to determine whether its proper status is that of a full species or a subspecies of Fenestraria rhopalophylla.
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Wikipedia