Euphorbia decaryi | Wavy-leaf Euphorbia
€50,00
🌱 Morphology
It looks like a plant that has learned to disappear among the dry leaves of the forest floor. Its stems barely rise from the ground and spread horizontally, while its fleshy, deeply wavy leaves, often tinged with red and green, blend in with the leaf litter until they become almost invisible. When observed closely, however, a small, extraordinary sculpture appears, full of reliefs, folds, and shapes that seem hand-drawn.
It is a tuberous, creeping succulent with fleshy, knobby, and partially subterranean stems that can grow horizontally through a thickened root system. The stems have five ribs and small appendages around the leaf scars. The leaves are fleshy, grey-green to reddish in color, lanceolate or variable up to rhomboid in shape, with a marked midrib and strongly wavy margins. Under favorable conditions, it can form a small mat that spreads over the substrate.
🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
A species of the Euphorbiaceae family endemic to southern Madagascar. It grows in dry environments, scrublands, and sandy or rocky areas; the type material comes from Vinanibe, near Fort-Dauphin, where it lives among low vegetation and dune leaf litter. Kew currently recognizes Euphorbia decaryi as an accepted species and includes two accepted varieties: var. decaryi and var. robinsonii. The species is listed as Endangered (EN) by the IUCN.
❄️ Temperature — USDA Zone 10a–11b
It tolerates minimum temperatures down to −1 ºC only in completely dry, well-acclimatized specimens and during brief episodes. Due to its Malagasy origin and creeping growth, it is recommended to protect it from prolonged frost and, especially, from the combination of cold and moisture.
☀️ Lighting
During active growth, a PAR DLI of 18–25 mol/m²/day is recommended. It needs plenty of light to maintain compact growth and promote the reddish coloration of the leaves, although it is advisable to introduce direct sun gradually to avoid burns, especially in specimens grown under protection.
💧 Growth cycle and watering
Winter dormancy. During the active growth period, it is recommended to water abundantly and allow the substrate to dry completely before watering again. During the dormancy period, watering should be greatly reduced and the substrate kept practically dry, especially if temperatures are low. The subterranean reserve system allows it to withstand periods of drought, but it does not tolerate prolonged waterlogging well.
🌸 Flowering
The cyathia appear on pink peduncles of several millimeters and feature floral structures in pink or greenish tones, with almond-green glands. Flowering can occur during the warm months, depending on growing conditions.
🌿 Nutrition
During the active growth period, a fertilizer specific for succulents with a high content of assimilable calcium, such as Desert CHOICE® Succulents, is recommended, applied once a month during watering.
This is an inimitable xerophyte grown in Madrid in a high-tech square pot with substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi and biofungicides.
20 cm pot
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