Euphorbia Horridia

Now there is some color contrasting going on this plant.............the flower bracts are amazing with the maroon and yellow colors against the chalky color of the plant. This is the first time this Horridia has bloomed for me. 

Euphorbia horrida is a perfect example of parallel evolution. 

There are no true cacti native to the old world but many 

South African succulents

 have evolved to resemble new world cacti.

Stone Faced

LITHOP

Derived from the ancient Greek words
lithos meaning "stone," and ops meaning "face"

This is the only collection of Lithops that I have, they are very charming. I will have to look into adding more to the collection. Kara Nursery offers a great selection if you are looking for something special to add to your own collection.


Lithops are found across wide areas of Namibia and South Africa, as well as small bordering areas in Botswana and Angola, from sea level to high mountains. They are perennial plants which develop a new pair of leaves each year. The leaf markings of any one particular plant change very little from year to year, and no two plants have markings exactly alike. They begin growing during the fall, continue throughout the winter and into the spring. In late spring or early summer, the plants will begin to go dormant. If a plant does not flower the first year you have it, it is perhaps not quite old enough. Lithops usually must be three to five years old before they begin flowering which will be a spicy-sweet scent and white or yellow in color.

Baby Pickle?

This little gem was a present from good friends. Some websites call it a Pickle Cactus.......that's one of the dumbest comments. The tag reads Euphorbia Horrida Hybrid. Love the colors of this plant, I think it will live happily at Death Valley Shack. The pot size is 2 1/2".

EUPHORBIA HORRIDA HYBRID
Euphorbia derives from Euphorbus,
Greek physician of king Juba II of Numidia

Hybrids of Euphorbia horrida are very common. The hybrids involves several different species (often resulted from accidental crosses) and are widely propagated for their quality. They are a very strong and easy to grow spiny succulent that looks a lot like an American cactus and will readily form large clumps. They are extremely variable due to their hybrid origin and have many varieties and forms. Many of the plants sold are actual hybrids. If you are looking to add any Euphorbias to your collection remember they are poisonous and need to be handled with care. It is a pretty easy plant to manage, grows well in a very good draining material and isn't picky about soil. The area of South Africa (lower Great Karoo) where the E. horrida plant is native from receives rains in both winter and summer, so it can be watered moderately all year around (except in the coldest month of the winter as it rot easily especially if over wet ) During the summer, they enjoy average feeding and watering.

Euphorbia Obesa

The plant above is in a 4" pot and has been in the collection for 5 years.

Euphorbia obesa is a peculiar, almost ball shaped dwarf succulent plant that resembles a stone. It can grow to 7" in height with a diameter of 3-4". It is a single-stemmed, unbranched, firm-bodied plant. The stem is usually 8-angled and grooved, subglobose (almost spherical) in shape, elongating and becoming cylindrical as it gets older. Younger plants have a rounded sea urchin-like shape. The rotund stem is mottled grey-green in color with dull purple transverse bands. The root system is a tapering tap root. The obesa is a subtropical succulent species of Euphorbia genus. It comes from South Africa, especially in the Cape Province. This plant is dioecious which means that it has only male or female flowers. In the wild, it is endangered because over-collection and poaching, because of its slow growth, and the fact that the pod contains only 2 to 3 seeds. However, it is widely cultivated in botanical gardens. Other names given to this wonderful interesting succulent are Baseball Plant, Sea Urchin, Golf Ball, Basketball, Living Baseball, Gingham, and Vetmensie. Like all other Euphorbias, one must be careful of the poisonous sap that this plant has.