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Products > Stomatium agninum
 
Stomatium agninum - Lamb's Tongue
   
Image of Stomatium agninum
[2nd Image]
Habit and Cultural Information
Category: Succulent
Family: Aizoaceae (Ice Plants)
Origin: South Africa (Africa)
Evergreen: Yes
Flower Color: Yellow
Bloomtime: Summer
Synonyms: [Mesembryanthemum agninum, Agnirictus aginus]
Height: <1 foot
Width: Spreading
Exposure: Full Sun
Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs
Winter Hardiness: 20-25° F
Stomatium agninum (Lamb's Tongue) - This succulent low growing succulent has pale green rhombodial leaves with rough dots and soft teeth near the tips and are grouped 6 to 8 in opposite pairs. Large bright yellow flowers that have a sugary scent appear in leaf axils in summer if plant is stressed.

Plant in full sun to light shade in a well-drained soil and water only occasionally. Though it does not bloom much the leaves are attractive and it makes an excellent dense groundcover for a rock garden or mixed succulent planting.

Stomatium agninum is endemic to the Eastern Cape province of South Africa and has previously been called Mesembryanthemum agninum and Agnirictus aginus. The name of the genus comes from the Greek word 'stomation' meaning "open mouth" in reference to the pairs of toothed leaf pairs that resemble a wide open mouth. The specific epithet is from the Latin word 'agninus' meaning "of a lamb or "fleecy", likely referring to its texture. This name carries over to the few common names we have uncovered such as Lamb's Tongue and Lamb's-chop. We received this plant as an unidentified mesemb from Tony Dinuzzo of Tony's Cactus Garden Nursery in Buellton, CA where he had large patches of this plant growing out in the open in full sun and enduring winter temperatures down to 20° F. We thought it was Faucaria or a species of Rabiea but finally got a plant to Steven Hammer who identified it as Stomatium agninum. He also noted that this plant was rather shy to bloom and that it can be very gray to almost silver when grown very dry.

Panayoti Kelaidis of the Denver Botanic Garden visited the nursery in the spring of 2013 and was so enamored by this plant that we made sure he took one home. A couple years later he showed a picture of it during his talk "Hardy South African Succulents for Temperate Gardens" at the 2015 Cactus and Succulent Society Annual Convention held at Pfitzer College in Claremont, California, noting it the largest form of the species that he had ever seen. We have been growing this great plant since 2003. 

The information about Stomatium agninum displayed on this web page is based on our research conducted in the nursery's horticultural library and from reliable online resources. We also include observations made about it as it grows in our nursery gardens and other gardens we have visited, as well how the crops have performed in containers in our nursery field. We will also incorporate comments we receive from others and welcome hearing from anyone with additional information, particularly if they can share cultural information that would aid others in growing this plant.

 
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