{{Short description|Genus of succulents}} {{Automatic taxobox |image = Titanopsis calcarea.jpg |image_caption = ''Titanopsis calcarea'' in cultivation |display_parents = 2 |taxon = Titanopsis |authority = Schwantes |synonyms = ''Verrucifera'' <small>N.E.Br.</small> |synonyms_ref = <ref name="POWO">{{cite POWO |id=16368-1 |title=''Titanopsis'' Schwantes |access-date=23 June 2025}}</ref> |subdivision_ranks = Species |subdivision = See text }}
'''''Titanopsis''''' is a genus of about four species<ref name="POWO" /> of succulent plants of the family Aizoaceae, indigenous to the arid regions of South Africa and Namibia.
The name ''Titanopsis'' is derived from the Greek (god), ''Titan'', the sun, and ''opsis'', appearance, from the sun-like appearance of the flower.<ref>{{cite book |last=Burkhardt |first=Lotte |title=Eine Enzyklopädie zu eponymischen Pflanzennamen |trans-title=Encyclopedia of eponymic plant names |publisher=Botanic Garden and Botanical Museum, Freie Universität Berlin |year=2022 |isbn=978-3-946292-41-8 |url=https://doi.org/10.3372/epolist2022|format=pdf |language=German |location=Berlin |doi=10.3372/epolist2022 |s2cid=246307410 |access-date=January 27, 2022}}</ref>
==Distribution== The genus has a disjunct distribution, occurring in three separate areas of southern Africa: southern Namibia, the region around the south-eastern border of Namibia and a larger area spanning between the former Cape Province and Orange Free State in South Africa. This unusual distribution means that the different ''Titanopsis'' species live in different rainfall systems—either summer or winter rainfall depending on the species.<ref name="POWO" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.succulentguide.com/cactus/?genus=Titanopsis |title=Titanopsis |website=Succulent Guide}}</ref>
==Description== thumb|left|''Titanopsis hugo-schlechteri'', showing the genus's distinctively warty leaf tubercles. Titanopsis succulents are small plants, often found growing low to the ground with a thick root system that branches out six to ten times.
The plant itself is often hidden by its own leaves, which grows in clusters of four to eight, forming a rosette pattern. These leaves have a truncate tip and rough warty little tubercles at the apex of the leaves. When fully grown, the leaves range from {{Convert|20-25|mm|in|abbr=on}} long.
The tips of the leaves have been noted to resemble limestone, allowing the plant to blend into its surroundings in its natural rocky habitat.
In the fall, the plant produces one to three yellow flowers with a {{Convert|2|cm|in|abbr=on}} diameter. These flowers lack any extra bracts<ref>{{Cite book |title=Aizoaceae |date=2017 |publisher=Springer |isbn=978-3-662-49258-1 |editor-last=Hartmann |editor-first=Heidrun E. K. |edition=2nd ed. 2017 |series=Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants |location=Berlin, Heidelberg}}</ref> {{clear}}
==Species== Plants of the World Online accepts the following species:<ref name="POWO" /> {| class="wikitable" |- ! Image !! Scientific name !! Distribution |- |120px || ''Titanopsis calcarea'' {{small|(Marloth) Schwantes}} || South Africa |- |120px || ''Titanopsis hugo-schlechteri'' {{small|({{ill|Arthur Tischer|es|lt=Tischer}}) Dinter & Schwantes}} || Namibia & South Africa |- |120px || ''Titanopsis primosii'' {{small|L.Bolus ex S.A.Hammer}} || South Africa |- |120px || ''Titanopsis schwantesii'' {{small|(Dinter ex Schwantes) Schwantes}} || Namibia & South Africa |- |}
==Cultivation== {{unreferenced section|date=July 2020}} Cultivation is easy with full sun, very well-drained soil, and attention to the natural rainfall of the particular species' habitat.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=van Jaarsveld |first=Ernst |date=1989 |title=Succulent plants on the fifth definitive series of stamps |url=https://journals.co.za/doi/pdf/10.10520/AJA00423203_4260 |journal=Veld & Flora |volume=75 |issue=1 |pages=13-15}}</ref>
The more popular species from the eastern areas, such as ''Titanopsis calcarea'', ''fulleri'' and ''luederitzii'' are adapted to summer rainfall, while those from further west, rarer species such as ''Titanopsis schwantesii'' and ''hugo-schlecteri'', are adapted to winter rainfall, when they also flower.
The plants are calcicole (they appreciate calcareous soils), but any typical loose succulent soil mix is suitable. Division of larger clumps is possible in some cases, but as most species have tuberous rootstocks and offset slowly, seed production is the most common method of propagation.
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==References== {{Commons category|Titanopsis}} {{Wikispecies|Titanopsis}} {{Reflist}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q138435}}
Category:Aizoaceae Category:Aizoaceae genera