Lithops are called also living stones or pebbles due to their shape. Would make a pretty unusual-looking addition to your plants’ collection. Extremally easy to care and pet friendly those plants thrives neglected for months without need of watering.

These plants are pet friendly!

Lithops are probably the most unique succulent if not, the most unique houseplant you can add to your collection. These incredible plants are commonly known as living stones, from the Greek meaning stone face. This is because of their incredible resemblance to a natural pebble or stone. They have developed this look over millions of years as a camouflage to avoid being eaten by grazing animals.

These plants can only be found in Southern Africa, growing across vast areas of Namibia, Botswana, Angola and South Africa. These plants thrive in some of the driest areas of these regions and can be found as low as sea level and in high mountain regions. Often different species are only found in one place and have adapted to thrive in their designated area, this can range from dry grassland to bare rocky ground way up in the mountains.

Lithops are incredibly slow-growing flowering succulents that belong to the family Aizoaceae with around 140 different varieties that make up the genus, with most of these incredible plants being able to live up to fifty years. Some species have developed a wonderful display of colours but the majority are grey, brown or cream with distinct markings like dots and lines which vary depending on the local conditions.

These plants are relatively simple in appearance consisting of two thick fleshy leaves that are designed to store all the water the plant could need for extended periods of time making this plant one of the best-adapted drought-tolerant plants in existence. Lithops naturally will only ever have two leaves at a time, they have split in the centre of the plant that allows a set of new leaves to grow. As the new leaves grow the outer older leaves begin to shrivel as they transfer their water stores to the new leaves and are eventually left with no moisture and die back.