What is the first plant that comes to your mind when the Succulent Karoo is mentioned? To me, it would definitely be Conophytum. Many Conophytum species show hyper-specialization for the conditions in their Karoo habitat, and nearly 30% of them only occur in one small geographical area, a concept known as endemism.
I have been lucky enough to visit a property with a conservation-minded landowner that keeps their plants safe. It always amazes me how some Conophytum manage to survive on what seems like pure stone. On the other end of the spectrum, you can find some specimens growing quite happily under moist carpets of moss and lichen. All are a bit weathered or bug-bitten, but they continue living happily in a delicate natural balance within their microhabitats.
Conophytum growing under lichen
Conophytum growing under a vygie
Unfortunately, their previously mentioned high rate of endemism and hyper-specialization to specific habitats comes with a downside. While it does lead to a wide variety of different Conophytum species existing overall, if there is a disturbance in their niche habitat, then the chance of the species becoming extinct is high. This disturbance could be a disease or overgrazing by herbivores. Recently, humans have contributed to it through poaching.
If poachers remove Conophytum and conservationists later rescue them, reintroducing the plants into the wild proves extremely difficult. The plants will struggle to adapt to anything other than their niche habitat. Once disturbed, some are completely unable to recover at all, as they could be several decades old. Also, reintroduction to their original habitat is only possible if the person that removed them remembers where they removed them.
Conophytum growing on nothing but stone
Conophytum wedged between stones
As plant enthusiasts, we should do our best to only keep artificially propagated, also known as nursery grown plants. This is the only way to ensure that plants in nature remain where they belong.
Example of a nursery grown Conophytum truncatum
Written by Harry Lewis, succulent specialist & conservationist