This lifeform is found in southern Africa. This non-native lifeform is now locally established in greater North America. The pink color will help identify this lifeform.

Aptenia cordifolia is native to South Africa. This is a mat-forming succulent that is only two inches high. The heart-shaped leaves help identify this species.

Aptenia genus is native to South Africa.  There are only two species in this genus.  They are both crawling succulents with opposite leaves.  One species is now considered established in North America.

Mesembryanthemum Family (Aizoaceae) reaches its greatest  development in southern Africa. Most of the species in this family are succulents  (plants that have adapted to low  moisture). They usually hold extra moisture in their stems and  leaves, and they can go for long periods of time without water.  The Family has about 2,000 species (per Gordon Rowley) organized into over 100 different genera. (A later estimate suggests 2,400 species with 114 genera.) The generic divisions are based upon fruit structure, and might be excessive. There were 14 genera with 23 species growing in greater North America as of 1994.

Centrosperm (Centrospermae) order is a large order composed of  several families.

Dicots (Dicotyledoneae Class) are the predominant group of vascular plants on earth. With the exception of the grasses (Monocots) and the Conifers (Gymnosperms), most of the larger plants that one encounters are  Dicots. Dicots are characterized by having a seed with two outer shell coverings. Some of the more primitive Dicots are the typical hardwood trees (oaks, birches, hickories, etc). The more advanced Dicots include many of the Composite Family flowers like the  Dandelion, Aster, Thistles, and Sunflowers. Although many Monocots reach a very high degree of specialization, most botanists feel that the Dicots represent the most advanced group of plants.

Seed plants (Phylum Embryophyta) are generally grouped into one large phylum containing three major classes: the Gymnosperms, the Monocots, and the Dicots. (Some scientists separate the Gymnosperms into a separate phylum and refer to the remaining plants as flowering plants or Angiospermae.)

For North American counts of the number of species in each genus and family, the primary reference has been John T. Kartesz, author of A Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland (1994). The geographical scope of his lists include, as part of greater North America, Hawaii, Alaska, Greenland, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

Kartesz lists 21,757 species of vascular plants comprising the ferns, gymnosperms and flowering plants as being found in greater North America (including Alaska, Hawaii, Greenland, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands).

There are estimates within the scientific world that about half of the listed North American seed plants were originally native with the balance being comprised of Eurasian and tropical plants that have become established.

Plant kingdom contains a large variety of different organisms including mosses, ferns, and seed plants. Most plants manufacture their energy from sunlight and water. Identification of many species is difficult in that most individual plants have characteristics that have variables based on soil moisture, soil chemistry, and sunlight.

Because of the difficulty in learning and identifying different plant groups, specialists have emerged that study only a limited group of plants. These specialists revise the taxonomy and give us detailed descriptions and ranges of the various species.  Their results are published in technical journals and written with highly specialized words that apply to a specific group.

On the other hand, there are the nature publishers. These people and companies undertake the challenging task of trying to provide easy to use pictures and descriptions to identify those species.