The genus name
"Lampranthus" means
"shining-flowers" in Greek, and the species of this genus have unusually large, bright flowers, of a range of colours (sometimes even bi-coloured), that usually appear in summer, and frequently cover the plants entirely. The species of this genus typically have long, smooth, elongated, succulent leaves. These can be triangular or cylindrical, and like all plants in its family, appear in opposite pairs on the shrubs' branches.
Lampranthus can be clearly distinguished from related genera by its seed capsules. The seed capsules of all of these genera have triangular valves, which open when they become wet, exposing the seed chambers (
locules). In contrast to
Ruschia, each valve in a
Lampranthus capsule has two wings, on either side of it, but no visible closing body. Unlike in
Delosperma, the seeds in
Lampranthus seed chambers are partially covered by a covering membrane.
Lampranthus seeds sometimes have visible stalks too.
Reproduction '' '' (the "mini ice plant") All
Lampranthus species flower between June and August (in the Northern Hemisphere) with flower colours including red, orange, peach, yellow and light pink through to magenta and purple. They are pollinated by many insects, such as
bees,
wasps and
beetles. ==Species==