Hairless Brightfig

Lampranthus glaucus

Animal-friendly

Supports monkey beetles

Supports bees

Tolerances & suitability

Drought-resistant

Good potplant

Growth features

Easy to grow

Lampranthus glaucus is a plant species in the genus Lampranthus native to South Africa and naturalized in gardens all around the world.

The compact and rounded shrub typically grows to a height of 0.1 to 0.3 metres. It has succulent leaves and produces masses of orange to yellow flowers from August to October. The flowers open completely in the sun and are so called noon flowers. It grows well in well drained sandy soils and poorly in clay soils.

"Threats are invasive alien species, habitat degradation, changes in native species dynamics, harvesting, habitat loss. 11 locations are known through herbarium records, but four are now locally extinct due to urban expansion on the Cape Flats and habitat loss to wheat cultivation elsewhere in the range. Habitat at seven remaining locations continue to decline due to urban expansion, especially in the Durbanville area, as well as alien grass invasion."

Propagation by seed

''Sow the seeds in a seed pan during the cool autumn months of the year. In the southern hemisphere these are March to May. Ensure that the seed pans are adequately drained. Sow the seeds in a mixture of sand and loam. On top of this mixture, sprinkle a thin layer of sand, 5 mm deep. It is into this sand that the seeds are sown no deeper than about 2 mm below the soil surface. If sown too deep the seeds will be smothered and will probably not germinate. Keep the area free of weeds, and water with a fine mist spray every second day. Ensure that the pans are in a sunny position. Plant the seedlings out in November of the same year when they are approximately 5 cm high.''

Propagation by cutting

Cuttings can be taken from healthy stems. Take cuttings that are about 8cm long and place in sandy soil. Water until the water runs through the pot once per week and wait for roots to fill the plug before you plant up into a bigger pot. Plat out once it has established a few healthy stems more than 5cm high.

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