Ceraria namaquensis
Ceraria is very closely related to Portulacaria, and recently the decision has been made to merge the genus into Portulacaria (based on DNA evidence). This will result in the new name Portulacaria namaquensis, but this change is not yet widely known, so I have listed it under its more familiar name. The family placement has also been in flux. Previously, Ceraria and Portulacaria were placed in the Portulaca Family, but this family has been broken up and now includes only the genus Portulaca, while Portulacaria has been moved into the family Didiereaceae. These families are part of a group of related families which includes not only Portulacaria, Portulaca, and the Madagascan plants of the Didierea Family, but also the Cactus Family. DNA makes strange bedfellows!
Relations aside, Ceraria namaquensis is a desert shrub from the arid nortwestern corner of South Africa, and also adjacent southeastern Namibia. It has small succulent jelly-bean-like leaves and a smooth pale trunk. In the late spring to summer it makes many tiny pink flowers.
-Brian
