Claws in the Karoo
Claws in the Karoo: The Secret Life of Euphorbia ornithophus Some plants announce themselves. This one doesn’t. No towering stems, no dramatic spines, no showy bloom to catch the eye from across a garden. Euphorbia ornithophus survives by doing the opposite of announcing itself — hugging low to rocky, sun-baked ground, growing so slowly and […]
The Gentle Giant of Puebla
The Gentle Giant of Puebla: Discovering the Echinocactus ingens If you are cultivating a seed-raised Echinocactus ingens, as we did at Succulents Online, you are partaking in a botanical journey that requires an abundance of patience. Even at ten years old, this magnificent cactus is still in its juvenile stage, a far cry from the […]
A Succulent and the Island That Time Left Behind
Look at this plant and every instinct tells you the same thing: cactus. Ribbed, spine-studded, standing tall and self-contained against a punishing sun — it has every hallmark of the deserts of Mexico or the Andes. And that’s exactly the trick. There isn’t a single cactus gene in it. What you’re looking at is Euphorbia […]
The Ghost of the Spiny Forest
There is a particular kind of plant that doesn’t try to impress you. It doesn’t unfurl a bloom the size of a dinner plate or drape itself in glossy leaves. Instead, it survives — quietly, stubbornly, for decades — by looking like almost nothing at all. Euphorbia ambovombensis is exactly that kind of plant, and […]
South Africa’s Indigenous Succulents
South Africa is home to one of the richest succulent floras on Earth. From the tiny Conophytum hidden among quartz stones to the living stones (Lithops) that disappear into the landscape, our country boasts more than 2,000 indigenous succulent species—many of which are found nowhere else in the world. These remarkable plants have evolved over […]