Succulent Gallery Part 2: Euphorbia pseudocactus
Also known as Lucky Cowboy, Dragon Bones, or Tiger Tree.
Euphorbia pseudocactus, a succulent shrub native to South Africa. You can find them in bush and savannah areas. This clump with its many stems of between 50 cm to 1 m tall forming a candelabra spurge, look a lot like a cactus. They have 4 angular ribs, with lime/yellow-green v-shaped markings, the segments on the stems can be anything from 5-15cm long, each segment represents a year of growth.
This thorny shrub blooms in late winter/early spring, displaying tiny green-yellow wax flowers on the top edge of each rib. It has sharp grey-white thorns and the stems secrete a sap that can irritate the sensitive skin.
This succulent has a water storing trunk and no leaves which help it during very dry and harsh conditions. It is a fast growing, low maintenance plant which needs quite a bit of sun and warm temperatures, preferably frost free areas (not good below 10 degrees Celsius). It thrives in fertile soil with good drainage, tons of sun and is drought tolerant. Ideal for rock gardens and pot plants.
It takes anything from 3-5 years to get a decent scrub like this one in the photo. For propagation you can take a stem cutting, dry it for a few days, then plant it in a pot filled with either moistened sand or peat.
Interesting a true war plant that supports extreme conditions.
I am a huge succulent fan. Great photos and information!
Thank you very much snooway. They are excellent for our SA gardens and there are some unique and interesting species.
What an interesting name. Lucky Cowboy. Went search for it and some old movie come out.
Thank you ace108. We call it the tiger tree here in SA.
You're welcome. Tiger tree is an interesting name too.
Those have to be three of the most badass names for plant life ever. You just know that plant is showing off to all the other plants because of it's cool names. I used to have a non-spiky euphorbia in one of my reptile tanks. It kind of looked like a baseball though, this is much prettier.
Thanks for your comment catonwheels. I can only imagine how it looks in a reptile tank as I have never seen anyone with reptiles using it before. Do you have some photos to share with us?
Very unique and beautiful. I have never heard of this tree or seen anything like it.
Thank you rbbeachdesigns. Most of our succulents are interesting and unique. I will be posting some more during the next few weeks.
Very beautiful! Thx for sharing. 😉
Nice post....👍👍👍
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amazing pictures thanks for sharing!
Nice and beautiful post .
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Thank you adi0108.
Cool! But scary ;) Where in SA did you find these?
Great shots :)
Thank you cheeto.blue, in Gauteng.
Awesome!!