Euphorbia horrida | African milk barrel
€7,95
🌱 Morphology
It looks like a small plant fortress covered in red spears. Its thick, blue-green stems rise to form compact columns, and the ribs are lined with a succession of spines that, in this form, take on an intense red color before darkening with age. The contrast between the cool, bluish epidermis and the fiery spines makes each specimen a true sculpture.
It is a shrubby succulent, highly branched from the base and capable of forming large clusters. The stems are erect, cylindrical, approximately 10–15 cm in diameter, and can reach 75 cm in height, although mature specimens can form even larger masses. They have between 10 and 20 prominent, deeply grooved, and often slightly wavy ribs. Persistent, hardened structures, originating mainly from old floral peduncles, appear on them, along with the characteristic main spines, which are rigid and up to about 4 cm long. The plant produces white latex.
🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
It is native to South Africa, mainly from the Cape provinces, where it grows in arid and semi-arid areas of the Karoo and other dry scrublands, on stony ground. It belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family. Currently, Kew treats Euphorbia horrida as a synonym of Euphorbia polygona, although the name E. horrida continues to be widely used in horticulture and succulent collections.
❄️ Temperature — USDA Zone 9a–11b
It tolerates minimum temperatures of up to −4 ºC occasionally when completely dry and well-acclimated. Some cultivation references note that, with roots completely dry, it can withstand even lower temperatures for short periods, but the combination of cold and humidity significantly increases the risk of rot.
☀️ Lighting
It needs very intense lighting, with an approximate goal of 18–25 mol/m²/day of DLI PAR during growth. Direct sun promotes compact stems and intense coloration of the spines. Specimens kept in low light must be gradually acclimated to direct sun.
💧 Growth cycle and watering
Winter rest. During the active growth period, it is recommended to water abundantly and let the substrate dry out completely before the next watering. In winter, it should be kept practically dry, especially if temperatures are low. In its habitat, it withstands prolonged periods of drought, and persistent humidity during cold weather is especially dangerous.
🌸 Flowering
It produces small, solitary cyathia in the growth areas, yellowish-green in color, although the floral structures are much less striking than the spines. After flowering, the peduncles can persist and harden, becoming part of the plant's characteristic spiny structures. Flowering occurs mainly during the warmer months.
🌿 Nutrition
During the active growth period, a specific fertilizer for succulents is recommended, with a high content of assimilable calcium, such as Desert CHOICE® Succulents, 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.
📏 The sizes of our basic collection xerophytes are as follows:
S -> 9cm x 9cm
M-> 14cm x 14 cm
L->16cm x 16 cm
* As this is an online purchase, the appearance of the sent specimen may vary slightly from the product image. The measurements of the plant are specified in the photo description, but this may also vary slightly because, after all, it is a living being! Each Desert CITY plant has unique characteristics.
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