€15,90

🌱 Morphology
It looks like a ball that someone left forgotten among the stones of the Karoo. Its almost perfectly spherical shape, horizontal bands, and grayish-green skin make it hard to believe that a plant can have such clean geometry. It has no spines or leaves to distract the eye: the focus is entirely on its body, which has become a small, sculpture-like water reservoir.

The stem is succulent, firm, solitary, and unbranched, generally globose in young specimens and progressively more cylindrical with age. It can reach about 20 cm in height and around 9–10 cm in diameter. It typically presents 7–10 shallow ribs, crossed by small tubercles and furrows. Its epidermis is grayish-green or brownish-green, with characteristic transverse bands in muted purple tones. The leaves are tiny and disappear very quickly. It is a dioecious species: each specimen is either male or female, so plants of both sexes are necessary to obtain seeds. Its floral structures are small cyathia, very different from the flowers of a cactus.

🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
It is endemic to South Africa, mainly in the Karoo region in the Eastern Cape Province, around Graaff-Reinet, Kendrew, and nearby areas. It grows in stony terrain and on slopes, among small shrubs of the Karoo vegetation, in very well-drained soils. The habitat mainly receives summer rainfall, often in the form of storms. It belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family.

❄️ Temperature — USDA Zone 9a–11b
It tolerates minimum temperatures of down to −4 ºC if it remains completely dry, is well-acclimated, and the exposure is brief. In winter, it is especially important to prevent the substrate from remaining damp when temperatures drop. In its natural habitat, it may experience light frosts.

☀️ Lighting
During active growth, it needs intense lighting, with an approximate target of 18–25 mol/m²/day of PAR DLI. It tolerates direct sun, although in its habitat it can also grow partially protected by small shrubs. Good lighting keeps the plant compact and promotes the intensity of its natural shades.

💧 Growth cycle and watering
Winter rest.
During the active period, abundant watering is recommended, letting the substrate dry out completely before watering again. In winter, it should be kept practically dry, especially at low temperatures. Its globose body stores water and is adapted to withstand periods of drought.

🌸 Flowering
Its inflorescences are cyathia, which appear near the top of the stem; they are small and discreet, with very reduced reproductive structures. As it is a dioecious species, male specimens produce pollen and female ones develop the structures that, after pollination, will produce capsules with seeds. Flowering can occur mainly between October and April, depending on the rains.

🌿 Nutrition
During the active growth period, a specific fertilizer for succulents with a high content of assimilable calcium, such as Desert CHOICE® Suculentas, is recommended, applied once a month when watering.

This is an inimitable xerophyte grown in Madrid in a high-tech square pot, with the substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi and biofungicides.

📏 Gourmet xerophyte in a 10x10 cm and 13x13 cm pot.

* As this is an online purchase, the appearance of the specimen sent may vary slightly from the product image. The measurements of the plant are specified in the photo description, but this can also vary slightly because it is a living being! Each of the plants at Desert CITY has unique characteristics.

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