Because of its typical habit, even young plants of this species are easily recognized. Over time, they will grow into a densely branched shrub or small tree, 2-6 (-10) m tall, with usually 2, divergent, stems and dense branches that end in a flat, often cushion-like, crown. The species name refers to this shape (comosa = wearing a crest, crested).
The branches are very thorny with grey, 1.5-3.5 cm long spines.
The fleshy leaves are usually developed in pairs on a short stalk and fade at the beginning of the dry season. They are egg-shaped to more or less round (1–2.2 cm x 1 cm).
The white flowers are dioecious; in other words: they are either male or female and occur on separate plants.
A. comosa grows on limestone in dry forests or coastal thicket in
S. and SW. Madagascar ( Toliara to Taolanaro).
Succulent fanciers usually are not impressed by Haworthia flowers. On a wispy stalk there are a number of insignificant, mostly dirty white flowers. In H. truncata, the flowers have brownish longitudinal stripes. How different things become when you look at one of those flowers in close-up (fig. 1).
Fig. 1 Close-up of a flower of Haworthia truncata
The petals end in gracefully curly transparent slips and the ensemble is reminiscent of a majestic flying swan.
In nature the pollination of the tubular flowers is often done by bee species with extra-long mouthparts. Honey suckers (the African counterpart of the hummingbird) also play a role in pollination.
Fig. 2 The plate accompanying the description by Schönland in Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa (1910).
Haworthia truncata was found in April 1909 by a certain Miss L. Britten on a farm 7 miles from the town of Oudtshoorn in the Little Karoo (Western Cape, South Africa). In 1910, the description by botanist Selmar Schönland appeared in the South African magazine ‘Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa’. The accompanying plate shows the plant with detailed drawings of the various parts (see fig. 2).
Fig. 2 The plate accompanying the description by Schönland in Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa (1910).
The formal description is followed by Schönland’s reflection on the morphology and anatomy of this special plant.
Karl von Poellnitz distinguished three forms of H. truncata in 1938: fa. normalis, fa. crassa with thicker and less flat leaves and fa. tenuis which remains much smaller. The latter was described as a variety by M.B. Bayer in 1976.
According to current taxonomic insights, these different names are unjustified and one name is sufficient for all the varieties and forms mentioned: H. truncata subsp. truncata. The closely related H. maughanii is seen as another subspecies: H. truncata subsp. maughanii.
Haworthia truncata is an outsider among the Haworthias. To begin with, the species differs from the standard Haworthia in that the leaves are not arranged in a rosette but are aligned (see fig. 3).
Fig. 3 Seedling of Haworthia truncata (Vanwykskraal) in cultivation.
In addition, the leaves, which are almost completely hidden in the ground, are flattened at the top (but with some differences in height) and all at about the same level so that it looks like they have been cut off with a blunt knife just above the ground (truncata means shortened). The cross-section is almost rectangular, so that the whole plant (sideways) is reminiscent of a fan or a multi-armed candlestick. The upright truncated leaves have earned the plant the name ‘Perdetande‘ (Horse Teeth) in South Africa. In Schönland’s drawing (fig. 2) the leaves do not have that typically rectangular shape, but are more similar to the leaves of H. maughanii.
To prevent the growing plant from protruding above the ground, there is another special faculty. The roots have transverse grooves that allow them to contract and thus bring down the plant body. Pretty much like an earthworm can contract.
Schönland explains that the plant, of which only the top of the leaves is visible, looks like a collection of pebbles and therefore does not stand out. In other words: it is a mimicry plant that in this way tries to protect itself from being eaten by animals. In order to receive enough light for assimilation, the leaf surface is somewhat transparent so that the light can penetrate to the assimilating tissue located on the inside of the leaf. This means that H. truncata can be counted among the so-called window plants, which we find mainly in the mesems. Think of Fenestraria, Frithia and several Lithops and Conophytum species. Schönland believes that this type of Southern African plant species that grow in full sun should in fact physiologically be considered to be shade plants.
In South Africa, they use different wording for all this.
In the question and answer section ‘Vra vir Ernst’ of a South African newspaper, I found the following description of H. truncata by Ernst van Jaarsveld:
‟In nature, the Horse Teeth are found in the Klein Karoo, especially in the Oudtshoorn district. They grow partly under bushes in stony conglomerate soil. Only the blunt leaf tips stick out of the ground, like horse teeth. They are difficult to spot and adapted to the arid environment. The leaves like those of beeskloutjies (little cow hoofs = Lithops spp.) are translucent green. In times of drought, the leaves shrink, and the dust covers the plants until they are almost invisible to humans.”
Haworthia truncata remained rare in European collections for quite some time after its discovery in 1909. In the Dutch monthly magazine ‘Succulenta’ it was first written about only in 1932 by the then widely known G.D. Duursma:
“Haworthia truncata Schönl. is a welcome addition of recent years, predestined to become so popular that it will soon be present in many collections.”
Cultivating the species is not particularly difficult. In South Africa, the plant grows and flowers in the rainy season. That’s in September and October. It makes sense to maintain this growing period in the northern hemisphere as well. This means that the plant should receive as much light as possible in these months and be watered regularly. In our climate, growth usually takes place in spring too. In the summer months, shade should be provided in the heat of the day and just enough water should be given to prevent the plant from drying out. The pot should not be too large, because then the soil may remain wet for too long after watering, resulting in rot. In literature it is reported several times that the roots periodically die and that the plant then quickly makes new roots in fresh soil. Like all plants of the Western Cape, the species is not sensitive to cold.
As a rough estimate, H. truncata grows at less than 10 localities in the vicinity of Oudtshoorn and west of it near Calitzdorp. Well-known locations are Dysselsdorp and De Rust, both east of Oudshoorn.
Fig. 4 Haworthia truncata near Dysseldorp (photo Coby Keizer).
Fig. 4 shows a group on a flat hilltop west of Dysselsdorp. The plants there occur generally in full sun but sometimes also under bushes. The soil is sandy and mixed with large and small stones.
Other succulents Coby has seen there are Cotyledon orbiculata, Aloe humilis and Aloe humilis hybrid (humilis x microstigma), Anacampseros arachnoides, Crassula capitella ssp.thyrsiflora, Crassula subacaulis, Duvalia species, Quaqua spec., Stapelia spec, Gasteria spec, various mesems and caudiciform plants. A true paradise for succulent fanciers.
Between Dysselsdorp and Kammanassie Dam (about 10 km to the south), a small variation occurs in which the leaf edges usually have small, pointed protrusions reminiscent of hairs. This form was described by German Ingo Breuer as var. minor (fig. 5, photo Robert Wellens). Later on, Breuer elevated this variety to a separate species: H. papillaris.
Fig. 5 Haworthia truncata var. minor VA 6718 (photo Robert Wellens).
At Van Wykskraal, about 5 km from Dysselsdorp, a natural hybrid with H. arachnoidea seems to grow.
The populations have suffered severely from the collecting frenzy of succulent lovers and traders. In addition, there is habitat destruction due to increasing urbanization of the area. On the Red List of endangered South African plants, the species has been given the status ‘vulnerable’.
In addition to the natural hybrids, there are countless artificial ones, often with variegated leaves or different folds of the leaf surface. Worth mentioning is the hybrid “Lime Green” (fig. 6, photo Robert Wellens), probably a cross with H. cuspidata, although H. cymbiformis is also considered to be a possible parent.
Fig. 6 Haworthia ‟Lime Green” (photo Robert Wellens).
Of H. maughanii (fig. 7-9) only one locality, south of Calitzdorp, is known. The area is less than 1 km2. Here too, a lot of damage has been done by succulent hunters and there is also damage from ostriches trampling the plants. All this has led to the status of ‘Critically Endangered’ for this species. The habitat of this species partly overlaps with that of the form of H. truncata which was described as fa. crassa and there are all kinds of natural hybrids in this area.
Fig. 7 A seedling of Haworthia maughanii (H. truncata ssp. maughanii) in cultivation.Fig. 8 Haw. truncata v. maughanii in habitat. Photo Frans Noltee
| Fig. 9 Haw. truncata v. maughanii in habitat. Photo Frans Noltee
Literature:
–Duursma, G.D. (1932) Haworthia truncata, Succulenta 14 (7): 169-172.
–Jaarsveld, E. van (2001). Vra vir Ernst, Lastige molkrieke en die biologiese bekamping van plae, Die Burger, Kultuurkroniek, http://152.111.1.87/argief/berigte/dieburger/2001/09/08/4/19.html
–Schönland, S. (1910). On some points in the morphology and biology of a new species of Haworthia, Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa 1 (2): 391-394.
–Red list of South African Plants, http://redlist.sanbi.org/genus.php?genus=2215
First published in Succulenta 93, 2014-2. Translated from Dutch by Frans Noltee.
Although this species usually develops into a much-branched, 1-2 m tall shrub with erect stems, it will sometimes form a small tree.
The tough leaves are densely hairy, grey-green to reddish brown above and green to silvery beneath, egg-shaped to lance-shaped, 5 – 15 x 3.5 – 10 cm, with an acute tip and entire margin.
Inflorescences of up to a meter tall produce yellow flowers which are erect or spreading, up to 1.3 cm long, urn-shaped to 4-angled and very fleshy.
All in all this is a very attractive species, especially when the young leaves are bronze coloured; it is slow growing but easy to cultivate and propagate.
Occurring in Southwestern Madagascar, usually at altitudes up to about 800 m.
This species produces firm creeping stems up to over 60 cm long.
The leaves vary from narrowly elongate to egg-shaped and are flatly triangular in cross-section, grey green, up to 2 cm long and 0.6 cm wide. The basal leaves are erect and larger.
From September to December the plants display their pale pink or white, sometimes yellow, flowers, which are up to 3.5 cm across.
The species occurs from Namaqualand to the dry regions of the winter rainfall area of the Western Cape and is rather common on flats and among rocks and abundant as a pioneer in disturbed places such as roadsides.
C. cotyledonis is very widespread and displays a great variation in size and shape of the leaves (even within the same population).
The plants form a basal rosette and usually only a few branches up to about 20 cm tall. The leaves are broadly lance-shaped to broadly egg-shaped (narrower in the Karoo) and flattened but somewhat convex above and below; they are grey-green to yellowish green, 3 – 6 (-9) cm long and 1-2.5 (-3.5) cm wide, densely covered with coarse recurved hairs (a good way to recognize the species). On the margins the hairs are longer.
The tube-shaped flowers are cream to pale yellow and appear from September to January; they are arranged in dense round clusters.
Occurring from southwestern Namibia to the Little Karoo and the Eastern Cape; usually on gravelly slopes and outcrops among rocks and bushes.
C. robusta has a wide distribution which is probably the cause of its considerable variation in certain features. This in turn has led to a high number of synonyms (16 in total).
It is easy to cultivate and to flower, one of the reasons for it being probably the most common species of Cheiridopsis in cultivation.
The plants form loose clumps, 20 cm tall and up to 40 cm across.
Their leaves are mucronate*, 5-8 cm long and about 1.5 cm thick; triangular in cross-section, pale greyish blue to greyish green with a reddish tinge and decorated with translucent spots.
Flowers are 6 cm in diameter, cream to yellow to white , often with pink, purple or orange tinges; they appear in August-September.
C. robusta is very common in the Richtersveld and also occurs in Southern Namibia, both winter rainfall areas with less than 100 mm rain per year. It is mostly found on rocky/gravelly flats or slopes, below 600 m in altitude.
These are compact plants (spissum = dense, close together), up to 10 cm tall and up to 15 cm in diameter. They have dark green leaves which are 4.5-7 cm long and triangular to slightly round in cross-section.
The beautiful flowers have stalks to 5 cm long and are nearly 4 cm across. Compared to most other Cephalophyllums, they are rather subdued in colour (purple to salmon-pink, with a paler centre); they appear in July-August.
The plants are often confused with C. caespitosum but they have fruits with 11-15 instead of 9-10 compartments.
They occur in the southern Knersvlakte in loamy soil among white quartz pebbles; often together with Argyroderma delaetii.
Crassula expansa is a very variable species which is widespread from southern Namibia to Tanzania and Madagascar. There are 4 subspecies, of which ssp. expansa is the most common.
This is a short-lived plant with soft and usually creeping branches, forming mats to 6 cm tall and 50 cm across.
The branches are green to reddish, and rooting at the nodes. Its leaves have a wedge-shaped base and a sharp tip; they are 6-12 mm long and 4-6 mm wide, inversely egg-shaped to almost linear, with a flat upper surface and a convex lower surface, or rarely almost round in cross-section; they are yellowish green to brown (or red when plants flower) with a reddish margin and often shiny.
The small (about 3 mm in diameter) cup-shaped flowers are white, often tinged red and appear mainly in July-December, but also at other times, especially after occasional rains.
Plants are found in KwaZulu Natal and in the Northern, Eastern and Western Cape Provinces, often on rocky or sandy slopes and sometimes abundant in disturbed places.
In 1897, professor Peter MacOwan, a British botanist working in South Africa, sent a specimen of Euphorbia meloformis, known since 1774 , to the Royal Gardens in Kew near London. At least that’s what he thought. When the plant came into bloom in the succulents greenhouse in 1899, it clearly turned out to be a different species. According to historiography, this unique plant then disappeared from the Kew collection (probably a concealing way of saying that the plant died). Happily, they had made coloured drawings of the flowering plant (fig.1). That gave enough information to Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, Kew’s resident botanist, to go ahead with a description in 1903.
Fig. 1 The drawing in Curtis’s Botanical Magazine of the first E. obesa in the Western world shortly before it ‘disappeared from the Kew collection’ (read: died).
Euphorbia obesa is a dioecious species, in other words, a plant which develops only female or only male flowers. The drawing clearly shows a female plant, but in a detailed drawing ‘stamens’ are shown (no. 4 on the plate) and in the description it says: “Filaments anantherous, hirsute”, which means that the stamens are bristly hairy (hirsute) and do no bear anther buds (anantherous). It probably concerns rudimentary stamens that do not develop in a female cyathium. Or would Hooker have mistaken the incised slips of the cup-shaped shell (involucrum) for stamens?
E. obesa remained very rare for some time. In 1907, Alwin Berger in his ‘Sukkulente Euphorbien,’ reported that the Kew plant up to then was the only known specimen. And in the part on the Euphorbiaceae in the ‘Flora Capensis’, N.E. Brown in 1915 reported that only female plants were known. In the Netherlands, the species was first admired in 1924 at the first Succulent Plant Exhibition in The Hague. The owner had bought the plant at the World Exhibition held at Wembley in the same year. In 1926 we find the first photo in the Dutch magazine ‘Succulenta’. Because of its rarity, E. obesa was a coveted plant at the time and people were willing to pay large sums of money for it. As a result, the localities were literally looted once they were known. The South African government recognized that there was a threat of extinction and to prevent that, an export ban for live plants was imposed in 1931.
The species name obesa means ‘thick’, ‘fat’, ‘swollen’. Just think of the new health issue obesity, in which the same word is incorporated. In this context, it is worth mentioning that the plant in South Africa is called vetmensie (‘little fat human’).
Another South African name is ‘klipnoors’. Klip means stone or boulder and noors is the name which in the Jansenville area was given to the common yellow-flowered and rather thorny Euphorbias. These reminded the British of the gorse (Ulex europaeus) found in England. This then was probably corrupted by the Dutch to Noors (‘Norwegian’). The region around Jansenville is now called Noorsveld and ‘Noors’ has become a designation for Euphorbias in general. A klipnoors is therefore a Euphorbia that looks like a piece of stone.
Names in English are: Living baseball, Eisenhower’s golf ball, Baseball plant, Sea urchin (zee-egel). This last one obviously as a reference to a sea urchin’s shell. See Fig. 2 and 3 below.
Fig. 2 Euphorbia obesa subsp. obesa, in South Africa called vetmensie (a fatperson).
Fig. 3 The shell of a sea urchin
The species occurs near the town of Kendrew in the Graaff-Reinet district (on the west side of the Eastern Cape). There the plants grow on the top and the southern slopes of low hills, between 300 and 900 meters above sea level and also on the flat parts between the hills. On these flat parts they occur in sandy soil under shrubs, but on the slopes the soil is much more stoney. The colours of the plant body match the environment so well that it is difficult to find one.
In summer, the maximum temperature is on average 26 °C and the minimum temperature 11 °C. In winter it sometimes freezes slightly. The annual rainfall is 200 to 300 mm, spread over two periods. In late spring (October – November) there is some precipitation and at the end of the summer (March – April) larger quantities are registered. Most of the rain falls during thunderstorms. Apparently, the plants are eaten by the numerous baboons and by the cattle of the farmers. The milky juice does not seem to bother these animals.
Fortunately, despite the collecting frenzy of the enthusiasts, there are still some populations left (perhaps overlooked at the time). They are now protected, sometimes even by placing a fence around them.
It is also completely unnecessary nowadays to remove these plants from nature. They are grown in large numbers and the cultivation is certainly not difficult. It is actually incomprehensible that in 1935 it was still thought that the species could hardly be kept alive, as appears from the following fragment from the question and answer section in the October issue of ‘Succulenta’:
“For Euphorbia obesa, the ‘right’ culivation in our country has not yet been discovered. At best, one can keep this most remarkable of all Euphorbias, which only occurs in one part of the Cape Colony (Kendrew in the district of Graaff Reinet northwest of Port Elisabeth), alive for a few years. They slowly wither away in our country: there is usually no question of them getting any bigger.”
For a long time, it was believed that the species indeed only occurs in the immediate vicinity of Kendrew, south of the town of Graaff Reinet, but apparently there are also populations north and northeast of Graaff Reinet.
Sensational was the discovery by Robert Allen Dyer in 1939 of a population of a similar plant on Mr. Stegman’s Kruidfontein farm, 19 miles west of Willowmore, on the road to Rietbron. This is at a distance of more than 100 km southwest of Kendrew and in the intermediate area no plant resembling an E. obesa has ever been found. This plant was described in 1941 by White, Dyer and Sloane as a separate species, E. symmetrica (fig. 4).
Fig. 4 E. obesa subsp. symmetrica.
The main difference with E. obesa, in addition to the geographical separation of course, is that the points from which the inflorescences originate (called flowering eyes), are different in shape. In E. obesa they are round dots from which one flowering stem (peduncle) originates, but in E. symmetrica it is an elongated transverse stripe, and this offers space for several (up to 5) flowering stems next to each other (fig. 5). Incidentally, in E. obesa there may also be several inflorescences together, but in that case, they originate from one branched flowering stem.
Fig. 5 E. obesa subsp. symmetrica differs from ssp. obesa in that the “flowering eyes” are stripe-shaped and can thus accommodate up to 5 flower stalks (peduncles).
In addition, E. symmetrica keeps its spherical shape much longer than E. obesa. In the long run, however, it also becomes taller than wide.
Also, in E. symmetrica the taproot is supposed to develop much more vigorously. Later on it was also mentioned that young seedlings are spherical in E. symmetrica and cylindrical in E. obesa. Gordon Rowley in 1998 found the differences too small to distinguish 2 separate species and he reduced E. symmetrica to a subspecies, E. obesa subsp. symmetrica. The original E. obesa is now called E. obesa subsp. obesa.
In an article by Gerhard Marx in the magazine Cactus & Co, some more differences are mentioned: in subsp. symmetrica the head is more sunken than in subsp. obesa; the colored stripe pattern on the plant body in subsp. symmetrica (especially visible in seedlings) consists of fewer, but wider and more pronounced bands than in subsp. obesa and under identical conditions, especially with regard to the amount of light, the colour of subsp. obesa is more purple blue-grey and of subsp. symmetrica green to yellow-brown. Young seedlings are clearly greener in subsp. symmetrica.
Propagation by seed works very well in E. obesa and the seedlings quickly develop into beautiful little balls. On April 29, 2008, I sowed 25 seeds of subsp. symmetrica (from my own plants) in 5 neat rows of 5 in a pot of 8 x 8 cm (at the top). I always sow at a temperature of 25 °C to 30 °C. Within one week, 13 seelings had already emerged. In fig. 6 we see the pot with seedlings on May 18, so barely 3 weeks after sowing. By then the 22nd seedling had just emerged from the soil.
Fig. 6 E. obesa subsp. symmetrica seedlings 3 weeks after sowing.
In fig. 7 we see the same pot on July 13, almost 11 weeks after sowing. Now there are 23 seedlings on display. A success rate of 92%. If the seedlings are not transplanted, sometimes a seed will germinate in the next year. A late vocation, shall we say.
Fig. 7 E. obesa subsp. symmetrica seedlings 11 weeks after sowing.
As far as the soil is concerned, the plant is not very demanding, but a mineral composition is recommended. Water regularly in the growing period and keep dry in winter. According to the literature, temperatures down to -10 °C. are tolerated when the soil is completely dry.
Subsp. symmetrica is perhaps a little more sensitive to cold. In its habitat it does not get as cold as at the localities of subsp. obesa.
Over the years, a whole series of abnormalities has been reported among the countless cultivated specimens of subsp. obesa. Of course, cristates have been known for a long time. Usually they are grafted but this is not really necessary. One of my seedlings from 1998 changed into the cristate form from the beginning. Fig. 8 shows part of this now 14-year-old plant which still has its own root system.
Fig. 8 A 14-year-old seedling of E. obesa subsp. obesa on its own roots.
E. obesa does not normally form side shoots, but in some specimens, shoots are produced from the base. The designation ‘forma caespitosa‘ was coined for this. Bizarre in appearance is ‘forma prolifera‘, in which a new shoot is created from every growing-point. It is very similar to the witch broom disease that occurs in some cacti.
On to deviations in flowering. Under the not so correct title “Impotence in Euphorbia obesa“, J. Mieras reports in 1978 a male plant whose stamens do not develop and in 1979 a female specimen is reported in which the pistil does not develop normally.
Male plants which become females and vice versa also occur. In addition, in 1983 P.H. den Hartog reported a plant of which all cyathia are bisexual. So, both pistil and stamens in one cyathium. In my own collection I have observed in both subspecies that there are male specimens which regularly produce bisexual cyathia and fruits thereof (fig. 9).
Fig. 9 E. obesa subsp. obesa with some bisexual cyathia.
Furthermore, there is the obesa with deformed stamens mentioned by Riet Maessen in the December issue of Succulenta 2012 (fig. 10).
Fig. 10 E. obesa subsp. obesa with monstrose male inflorescences, photo Riet Maessen.
Then there are the plants that proceed to multiple dichotomous division without this leading to the formation of a crest (cristate). These forms are referred to as ‘forma polytomica‘. Mixed forms of polytomic and cristate growth also occur. Gordon Rowley gives these types of shapes the name “Rocky Mountain”. Unfortunately, the species was not designed to undergo such a drastic change in shape and that means that cracks will occur, resulting in ugly brown spots.
I have a few such forms in my possession, all female ones and there is a lot to experience there. To start with, the pistils are not only 3-fold but also 4-, 5- or 6-fold and after pollination with a normal obesa, this results in fruits with 3 to 6 compartments (fig. 11 and 12).
Fig. 11 A monstrose form (“Rocky Mountain”) of E. obesa subsp. obesa with 3-, 4- and 5-parted fruits.
Fig. 12 Close-up of the fruits in Fig. 11.
On one of those plants, a kind of monstrose way of flowering began to develop 2 years ago in which a still expanding lump of cyathia has arisen (fig. 13).
Fig. 13 Monstrose inflorescence in E. obesa subsp. obesa “Rocky Mountain” .
Fig. 14 On the right a seedling of E. obesa subsp. obesa with 3 seed-leaves.
This is a phenomenon that also occurs quite frequently in cacti. Other seedlings will keep making new ribs so that after 1 year there are already about 13 instead of the usual 8. In the second or third year, such a seedling then proceeds to dichotomous division. In fig. 15 we see such a plant after the division is complete and fig. 16 shows such a plant at a more advanced stage.
Fig. 15 After forming about 20 ribs, this seedling of E. obesa subsp. obesa decided that it was necessary to divide dichotomously.
Fig. 16 A plant of E. obesa subsp. obesa divided dichotomously.
So all this refers to offspring of a monstrose female plant that has been pollinated with pollen from a normal male plant. In any case, the phenomenon seems to have a hereditary component. I wonder how big the percentage of abnormal offspring is if the supplier of the pollen is also a monstrous form.
What remains to be told is the fact that E. obesa hybridises rather easily with other species and that the plants in our collections will not all be true to type. As long ago as 1938, ’Succulenta’ contained a picture of E. obesa x submammillaris. In addition, there is a cultivar on the market under the name of “William Denton” which is claimed to be a hybrid with E. mammillaris. Common are hybrids with E. meloformis. Among other things, these are distinguished from the true obesa by the fact that the flowering stems, just like in E. meloformis, usually are not shed after flowering. Hybrids with E. horrida, E. globosa and E. ferox are also known.
LITERATURE
Berger, A. (1907). Sukkulente Euphorbien. Ulmer Verlag, Stuttgart: 102.
Brown, N.E., Hutchinson, J, Prain, D. (1915). Euphorbiaceae in Thiselton-Dyer, Flora Capensis, William Clowes and Sons, London, Vol. 5, sect. 2, part 2, p. 359.
Hartog, P. H. (1983). De sexuele spelingen van Euphorbia obesa. Succulenta 62 (11): 258.
Hooker, J. (1903). Curtis’ Botanical Magazine 129, tab. 7888.
Houten, van den, J.M. (1926). Merkwaardige Euphorbias, Succulenta 8 (7/8): 100.
Killick, D. J. B. (1978). The flowering plants of Africa.
Laren, van, A, J. (1932). Vetplanten, Verkade’s fabrieken N.V., Zaandam.
Marx, G. (2012). The South African spherical spurges, Cactus & Co 16 (2): 70 – 81.
Mieras, J. (1978). Impotentie bij Euphorbia obesa, Succulenta 57 (7): 150.
Mieras, J. (1979). Nogmaals Euphorbia obesa, Succulenta 58 (8): 203.
Rowley, G. (2006). Teratopia, Cactus & Co.
Sluys, van der, C. (1938). Euphorbia obesa x Euphorbia submammillaris, Succulenta 20 (1): 11.
Thoorn, J.J.E. van de, (1935). Vragenrubriek, Succulenta 17 (10): 159.
White, A., Dyer, R., Sloane, B. (1941). The Succulent Euphorbieae 2: 559, Appendix A: 964.
First published in Succulenta 92 (6), December 2013. Translation from the Dutch by F.N.
This clump-forming species is similar to A. telephiastrum, but up to 10 cm tall and thereby the largest member of the genus.
Its leaves are lance-shaped*, to 4 cm long and to 2 cm wide ( wider than thick), rounded below but almost flat above and ending in a minute spiny tip; they are blue-green at the beginning of the growing season, but become wrinkled and brown at flowering time. The white hairs in the leaf axils are often longer than the leaves.
The inflorescence is up to 25 cm tall, with 1 – 4 pink or white flowers, which are to 3 cm in diameter; the petals are almost as wide as long, with a pointed tip. Flowering time is October to December.
The plants are found on rocky flats or slopes from the Richtersveld to the western Karoo, Little Karoo and Langkloof. Anacampserotaceae
* a shape which is broadest at about a third from the base and gradually gets narrower till it ends in an acute tip.
