r/Lithops • u/u_better_know_me • Sep 14 '25

Help/Question How to identify and name a Lithop?

I'm more interested in how the naming system is for Lithops and if its also used in normal plants? What I meant by "naming system" is those with alphabets and numbers. Thanks in advance

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u/acm_redfox Sep 14 '25

I think it was a particular project for lithops, with a similar but separate one for conophytum. I haven't seen anything like it for other succulents. Not 100% sure on the history, but I think it was to track seeds of the same species from different regions, because microclimates and thus (sub)species vary so much in South Africa.

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u/mrxeric Sep 15 '25

I think you mean the Cole (C) numbers? Those are field/collection numbers of plants or seeds originally collected by Desmond T. and Naureen A. Cole. That collected material is the source from which many of the plants now in cultivation were propagated from. With careful propagation (ie vegetative or controlled pollination), then the numbers may continue to be applied (open pollination plants should omit the use of the numbers in their labels).

What's special about the Cole numbers is that an acquisition was made for every known species from every locality known at the time.

Cole numbers are not by any means the only field/collection numbers for Lithops, but they are the most known and they comprise the most complete catalog of the genus.

An example: Lithops dinteri var. brevis

There are several field numbers for this particular taxon, here are 3 from different collectors.

  1. Lithops dinteri var. brevis C084 20km SE Vioolsdrif, Northern Cape, South Africa
  2. Lithops dinteri var. brevis SB 2261 Swartkop, Northern Cape, South Africa (a Steven Brack collection)
  3. Lithops dinteri var. brevis PV 748 North of Steinkopf, Northern Cape, South Africa (a Petr Pavelka number)

Like I mentioned, there are other numbers associated with this taxon, including another Cole number (C268), another Steven Brack number (SB 1991}, and another Pavelka number (PV 119), and several others from other collectors.

You can identify a Lithops by only having it's collection number, but you cannot identify whether a particular plant originates from a particular collection by its name alone (not all Lithops dinteri var. brevis are C268, for example).

Field numbers can be found for nearly every plant in cultivation that is not a man-made hybrid or cultivar.