The plants are firmly rooted on ledges, growing in limited soil, which results in them having little competition from non-succulent plants. The succulent leaves store water which enables the plant to withstand periods of drought. The fine pointed papillae, apart from storing moisture, assists with trapping dew and fog, thus providing additional moisture to the plant. Fog during summer is not uncommon on the higher mountain tops of the Waterberg, such as Kransberg, now part of the Marakele National Park. The plant is a rapid grower from a central rootstock, these flowering branches die back during the dry winter months, but the central portion remains intact and the plants sprout again in spring.

Fig. 6. A Delosperma waterbergense plant in flower at Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden, note the narrow, pale staminodes (sterile stamens without anthers).

The flowers are quite large in comparison to the two closely related species, D. zoutpansbergense and D. zeederbergii. This rich flowering trait makes the flowers easily visible to possible insect pollinators, such as the honeybee and other small insects (Snogerup 1971). Flowering time is during the growing season, fairly long, and flowers are regularly produced, ensuring a long an continual seed supply. The seeds are retained in the hygrochastical capsules only to be released during rain periods, when the expanding keels of the capsule force open the cell lids, exposing the now uncovered seeds to falling raindrops. Seeds are splashed or washed out from the capsule. The dark brown seed is small, ideal for establishment on the cliff. (Hartmann 1991). Delosperma fruiting capsules do not have covering membranes as are found in many other mesembs, hence the reason for the name: delos means ‘naked’ and sperma, ‘seed’. However upon drying, the cell lids close again, contracting the keels and conserving the seed until the next rain shower.