Ebracteola

Morphological Summary

Ebracteola is a small genus of succulent plants belonging to the family Aizoaceae (Mesembryanthemaceae in the broad sense), described by N. E. Brown and later revised by H. E. K. Hartmann. The genus name refers to the absence ("e-") of bracts ("bracteola") in its flowers, a character that distinguishes it from related genera such as Delosperma. Its species are compact succulents with fleshy triangular or semi-cylindrical leaves, solitary flowers with numerous linear petals in shades of pink to magenta, and hygrochastic dehiscent capsule fruits. They inhabit the arid and semi-arid regions of south-western South Africa and Namibia, mainly in the Karoo and Namaqualand, where they grow in sandy or stony soils with high sun exposure.