1 1 Plants and their Ways in South Africa 



Crassula columnaris, L., and the Mesembrianthemums shown 

 in Figs. 93 and 94, testify that the heat is no excuse for un- 

 tidiness. They can lay little claim to grace, unless on the 

 ground that the most graceful is that which is best adapted to 

 its use. They are painfully neat in their housekeeping ar- 

 rangements, and instead of reducing their leaf surface after 



FIG. 95. Satyrium candidum, Lindl. 



FIG. 96. Hydrophylax. 

 The leaves and stipules 

 form a cup which catches 

 and holds rain. 



the fashion of their neighbours in the western part of the 

 Province, their leaves are much in evidence. The plants of 

 the Karroo defend themselves against the lack of rain by 

 storing water in their swollen roots or stems and leaves. The 

 leaves have thick cuticles, which are often encrusted with lime 

 or covered with wax. In the leaf depressions rain and dew 

 may be caught and retained, and the delicately tinted blossoms 



