Euphorbia loricata | Euphorbia loricata
€7,95
🌱 Morphology
It looks like a small shrub dressed in armor made of tiny spears: its green and bluish branches are covered with long thorns that are born from the very history of its flowers. The most fascinating thing is that what appears today to be a fierce defense began as a delicate floral peduncle; when the cyathium disappears, that stem hardens and remains for years, transformed into a thorn.
It is a succulent, glabrous, and highly branched shrub that can reach approximately 1–1.5 m in height. The stems are cylindrical, about 8–15 mm in diameter, and feature numerous tubercles arranged in rows. From these emerge pairs of strong thorns, 1.2–5 cm long, which correspond to the peduncles of the persistent, and later hardened, inflorescences. The leaves are narrow, lanceolate, glaucous, and deciduous, about 2.5–7.5 cm long; they appear mainly at the ends of the branches during the growing season and then fall off, leaving the plant dominated by its characteristic prickly structures. It produces white latex when injured.
🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
It is a species endemic to South Africa, distributed from Vredendal and Clanwilliam to Laingsburg, in the Western Cape province. It lives in stony terrain, on sandstone, tillite, shale, and plains with more clayey soil, forming part of Fynbos and Succulent Karoo environments. It is found from approximately 50 to 1,035 m in altitude. It belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family and is classified as Least Concern (LC).
❄️ Temperature — USDA Zone 10a–11b
It tolerates minimum temperatures down to −1 ºC if it remains completely dry, is well acclimatized, and exposure to cold is brief. In cultivation, it is advisable to especially avoid the combination of low temperatures and humidity.
☀️ Lighting
During active growth, it needs intense lighting, with an approximate goal of 18–25 mol/m²/day of DLI PAR. It tolerates direct sun after progressive acclimatization. High lighting promotes compact growth and maintains the characteristic bluish-green coloration of the stems.
💧 Growth cycle and irrigation
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 when temperatures are low. Rapid drainage is essential to avoid root problems.
🌸 Flowering
It produces numerous cyathia around the ends of the branches, generally individually. Each one appears on a peduncle that remains after the inflorescence disappears and ends up hardening into one of the plant's characteristic thorns. The cyathia feature five green glands. In its habitat, flowering is recorded mainly in May; in Spain, it can be concentrated during the spring and early summer.
🌿 Nutrition
During the active growth period, a fertilizer specific 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 technological square pot and with the substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi.
📏 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 specimen sent 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, it is a living being! Each of the Desert CITY plants has unique characteristics.
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