A. cordifolia is much more common in Spain, but A. lancifolia has been reported in some spots in the Mediterranean coast. Both are very similar and very easy to misidentify. The leaf shapes are a little bit different, but this is not a very clear character.
I don't know them well but am familiar with the two species in cultivated situations. I think the leaf shape is often the best character to work with, but sometimes A. lancifolia tends toward having broadly lanceolate leaves, and the leaves of A. cordifolia are not always truly lanceolate.
I agree that the flowers of A. cordifolia look more pink-reddish than those of A. lancifolia.
You'll find a key here: http://bit.ly/1hGpNX6
Also look here: http://www.ispot.org.za/node/129029
Hope this helps.
Russell
According to the treratment by M. Gerbaulet in the "Illustrated Handbook of Sucuclent Plants. Aizoaceae A - E" (2001), both species key out as follows:
- Internodes 4-angled, leaves heart-shaped, fruits without valve wing... A. cordifolia (flowers bright pink).
Internodes terete, leaves lanceolate, fruits with valve wings ................. A. lancifolia (flowers pink, inner petals lighter).
Furthermore, A. lancifolia is tetraploid, whereas A. cordifolia is diploid - but his difference is of course not applicable in the field.
The clear distinction between the two species is blurred in cultivated and naturalized plants in that many of the cultivars of the widely cultivated A. cordifolia are hybrids, probably between A. cordifolia and A. haeckeliana, these often have narrower leaves and reddish - instead of bright pink - flowers (acc. to Gerbaulet).
Both species are mentioned and shown with distinguishing pictures at URL:
http://www.cactuspro.com/conophytum-lithops/encyclopedie/aptenia/aptenia-lancifolia/aptenia-lancifolia-dscf4624.jpg.php
A. cordifolia has heartshaped leaves, while A. lancifolia has lance/sword-shaped leaves.
the latter has definite lanceolate leaves much narrowerer than A. cordifolia
I think the best features are the internode section and the presence of wing in the valve fruit. Also A. cordifolia is a diploid (2n=18) and A. lancifolia a tetraploid (2n=36)
The plant is from South Africa and therefore going by generalization that it derives its name from wingless fruit capsules. The plant is easy to find as both of the species are cultivated for its floricultural importance thanks to its bright and showy flowers. The catalogue of life places Aptenia lancifolia as Mesembryanthemum lancifolia while the other species does not find any mention, please check whether it is snynonymised?? Going by very basic botany terminology cordifolia means it has some rope like or creeper like features while that of lancifolia means implies tapered or pointed leaf. I hope it helps you settle the scores…goodluck!!
In connection with the answer of Shivaji Chaudhry I must say A. cordifolia and lancifolia aren't synonymous. On the other hand, if we take a look to the new version of The Plant List, we should mention those taxa as Mesembryanthemum cordifolium and Mesembryanthemum lancifolium respectively; see:
http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2363065
http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/record/kew-2644431
According to the APG III system, Mesembryanthemum and/or Aptenia are genus of the family Aizoaceae; see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APG_III_system
http://www.mobot.org/MOBOT/research/APweb/
I appreciate your kind and useful answers. Thanks a lot.
The renaming of Aptenia cordifolia into Mesembryanthemum cordifolium and of Aptenia lancifolia into Mesembryanthemum lancifolium is based on a paper by Klak & al. (Klak, C., Bruyns, P.V. & Hedderson, T.A.J. (2007) A phylogeny and new classification for Mesembryanthemoideae (Aizoaceae). Taxon 56(3): 737-756) in which these authors sunk all previously recognized genera within Aizoaceae subfamily Mesembryanthemoideae into one all-embracing genus Mesembryanthemum, based on their molecular phylogenetic data. This lumping was criticized by several authors (Liede-Schumann, S. & Hartmann, H.E.K. (2009) Mesembryanthemum—back to the roots? Taxon 58(2): 345–346), and Gerbaulet (Gerbaulet, M. (2012) One or many genera in Mesembryanthemoideae (Aizoaceae)? Discussion of a conflict in genus perception. Bradleya 30: 187 – 198) recently provided a generic classification which reflects the molecular phylogenetic patterns, but retains the previously recognized genera such as Aptenia and recognized several new ones. The generic concepts of Gerbaulet will be followed for the new edition of the "Illustrated Handbook of Sucuclent Plants. Aizoaceae", and I suggest to follow that classification and retain Aptenia as a genus of its own.
Thank you Joachim... I will keep your words in mind.. In fact, some conclusions of The Plant List are being questioned for some botanists that I know.
I apreciate very much your great contributions.
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