Synonyms:

No synonyms are recorded for this name.

Habitat:

Adromischus marianae “Tanqua” is a subspecies of A. marianae. It is native to South Africa, in particular, from Tanqua Karoo. It is the most south-easterly distributed form of A. marianiae. Adromischus marianae, instead, is widespread in a big area of South Africa, extended from Namibia to the Western Cape in South Africa. Of this big area, the most south-eastern one is the native area of A. marianae “Tanqua”. This tiny It grows in rock crevices, forming mats in the shade of bigger shrubs. Its wide distribution is the main factor involved in its extreme variability: may subspecies and, in cultivation, cultivars of this species, in fact, exist.

Description:

Adromischus marianae, as above mentioned is a variable species, which means that it includes several subspecies, including Adromischus marianae “Tanqua”. Many of these subspecies are really wanted from collectors.
Adromischus marianae “Tanqua” has small, rounded, unmarked leaves and a thickened rootstock. It is a dwarf plant like almost every Adromischus: it doesn’t exceed a height of 8 centimeters. Its leaves are less than 5 centimeters long and wide, and are densely packed in tiny, attractive little fleshy tufts like rosettes. They have an irregularly rounded to semi-elliptical shape and are bright green, slightly tinged in purplish-grey: their colour is made paler by a subtle thin, ephemeral, whitish pruine, that has the funtion to minimize water loss through evapotranspiration and thus make this plant able to survive the droughts typical of this semi-desertic area. The inflorescence is the same of the one of A. marianae: it is a spike-like thyrse, borne by a 10 to 20 centimeters tall stalk, that has usually few flowers. The flowers are pale pink to white, and have 5 petal fused together in a tubular corolla, still divided in 5 visible lobes.

Cultivation:

The tips of cultivation are really similar to the ones for all the species in the genus Adromischus. Here below they are:

Place your Adromischus marianae “Tanqua” in a bright spot. If you put it indoors, leave it near a sunny window. Direct sunlight could, however, cause leaves wrinkling: it thus is important to make sure that the plant receives direct sunlight only for a few hours a day.
Choose a well-ventilated place. Adromischus marianae “Tanqua” doesn’t like stagnant air.
Adromischus marianae “Tanqua” thrives in warm environments (ideal is 24 ° C), but they stand also lower temperatures. Its limit is 5ºC. In winter, place them in a sheltered environment, away from rain: water stagnation between the foliage can be fatal.
Water regularly in Summer (approximately every two weeks), and scarcely in winter (one per month). If the plant is grown indoors, it will need to be watered more frequently.
Choose a well-drained soil: for example, a mixture of peat and sand with the addition of a little of gravel.
Fertilization is rarely necessary: it can be limited to once a year, during the growing season and after any repotting, using a specific fertilizer for succulent plant, diluting it with water.
Adromischus marianae “Tanqua”, like almost every Adromischus, stays modest in height but have, as already said, a good attitude of ground covering. Repotting, thus, is not necessary to increase the size of the plant (unless one wishes to develop in width: if so, plant it in a wide, shallow pot) but it is useful to keep it in good health.

Propagation:

You can get new specimens of Adromischus marianae “Tanqua” very easily through cuttings, starting from the leaves. Just cut off a healthy leaf, let it rest for a day in a warm environment to allow the wound to dry, and finally place it upright in a pot with well-drained soil. It is advisable to take off the cuttings when the plant begins to age; Adromischus in general, in fact, are not so long-lived: after a few years, they begin to wither and loose their leaves even if they are grown under optimal conditions. Reproduction from seeds is rarely used.

Curiosity:

 The name ” Adromischus” comes from the ancient Greek adros (=thick) and mischos (=stem).

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www.giromagi.com

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www.giromagicactus.com

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