Euphorbia suzannae

Euphorbia suzannae
Suzanna's Spurge

Love this little plant, one of the most interesting Euphorbias in the Death Valley Shack collection. This one is very small, I think its planted in a 3 1/2" pot. Named after the wife of the discoverer Dr. Muir.

Euphorbias are a truly interesting plant. So many varieties and different growing conditions. There are over 2000 species of Euphorbias in the world. They range from annual weeds to trees. They all have latex and a unique flower structure. A significant percentage is succulent, but they are mostly originating from Africa and Madagascar, but there are also a few from the Americas. The Euphorbias are named after a Greek surgeon called Euphorbus. He was physician of Juba II who was the Romanised king of a North African kingdom, and is supposed to have used their milky latex as an ingredient for his potions.

Several Euphorbias are garden plants, the most popular being the Poinsettia and Diamond Frost an annual that is used in container planting.

Aloe haworthioides var. haworthioides

This attractive miniature Aloe is quite convincing as a Haworthia. I purchased this Aloe two years ago and is quite the good bloomer, as you can see it has two flower spikes at this time. The inside of the leaves are maroonish and the outside is rich green. Love the furry teeth it has like delicate filigree, not to worry about being hurt with this plant. Native to Madagascar, it forms a miniature rosette with slender 3" leaves. Rosette to 3" in diameter with numerous offsets. Small pinkish flowers on a tall spike. I have moved it inside the house to enjoy the flowers when they open. The pot size is 3".

Aloe deltoideodonta var. cardians

ALOE DELTOIDEODONTA var. CARDIANS

This stemless or short stemmed Aloe comes from the rocky slopes of the mountainous Fianarantsoa province of southern central Madagascar at elevation of 2,100 to 2,600 feet. It produces pups from the base to make a cluster of rosettes with pale green 6 to 8 inch long by 2 inch wide leaves with prominent darker green parallel lines and straw colored margins. It is shy to bloom but is described as having a short branched or unbranched conical inflorescence with green tipped pale orange flowers that open to near white and deflex downward.

Tephrocactus molinensis

Relative of the Opuntia Family

The Tephrocactus contains 5 species that are relatives of the Opuntias, and often included in that genus. The genus name "Tephrocactus" derives from the Greek adjective “tephros” meaning “ash coloured” plus the connective vowel “o” used in botanical Latin for Greek words , and the word “cactus” (an old genus name). The genus name implies: “ash coloured cactus”.
The name "molinensis" comes from "Los Molinos", name of the original location of Argentina (Salta, Los Molinos) from the high elevation in the Andes mountains, and are generally frost resistant. The habitat it grows in is often an open area among the wide spread Trichocereus pasacana. Small clumping segmented succulent, in cultivation grows as small erect segment chains. In habitat the plants stay smaller because the uppermost segments are detachable and drop easily. At the end of the dry season the cladodes are very dehydrated and plants retract almost at soil level. There is also a red form. The plant above is in a 3" pot.