Euphorbia platyclada | 'Dead plant'
€10,60
🌱 Morphology
It looks like a handful of dry sticks that someone might have picked up from a forest floor and placed carefully in a pot. But upon closer inspection, a surprise emerges: those seemingly dead branches are alive, fleshy, and marked by a complex network of spots, rugosities, and small bumps. Its extraordinary camouflage is no coincidence: in nature, it can be mistaken for the plant debris that covers the dry forest floor.
It is a succulent subshrub, highly branched and practically leafless, that can reach about 50 cm in height. The stems are fleshy, articulated, irregular, and notably flattened, up to approximately 10–15 mm wide and 2–3 mm thick. They may initially grow upright, but often become horizontal or decumbent and branch repeatedly. Its surface has a rough and tuberculate texture, especially on young shoots, and an extraordinary coloration that can range from reddish-pink and brownish-red to yellowish-gray, crossed by dark grayish-green spots or veins. The leaves are reduced to tiny, deciduous, and very ephemeral scale-like structures. The cyathia generally appear solitarily at the ends of the stems. It produces white latex when injured.
🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
It is endemic to southern and southwestern Madagascar, where it grows in xerophytic vegetation and dry deciduous forests, from approximately sea level up to about 500 m in altitude. It has been recorded in small areas around Toliara and towards Fort-Dauphin. Its cryptic appearance allows it to blend in with leaf litter and dry branches on the forest floor. It belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family.
Currently, Kew considers Euphorbia platyclada a synonym of Euphorbia bosseri, while E. platyclada continues to be a widely used name in horticulture and specialized literature. The taxonomic revision published in 2021 was what established this synonymy.
❄️ Temperature — USDA Zone 10a–11b
It tolerates minimum temperatures of up to −1 ºC if it remains completely dry, is well-acclimated, and the cold exposure is very brief. In cultivation, it is advisable to protect it from frost and, above all, avoid low temperatures coinciding with a moist substrate.
☀️ Lighting
During active growth, it needs intense light, with an approximate goal of 18–25 mol/m²/day of DLI PAR. It tolerates direct sun after progressive acclimation. High lighting promotes the reddish and brownish tones of the stems; with less light, they may acquire duller tones and develop weaker growth.
💧 Growth cycle and watering
Winter rest.
During the active period, abundant watering is recommended, allowing the substrate to 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
The cyathia are tiny, just a few millimeters, and appear mainly at the ends of the stems, where they can go practically unnoticed among the plant's coloration. They feature shades ranging from dull orange and golden yellow to reddish-brown. Flowering occurs mainly towards the end of summer, although it may occasionally appear outside this period in cultivation. The species is self-fertile and can produce seed capsules after flowering.
🌿 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 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 9x19 cm pot.
* Since this is an online purchase, the appearance of the specimen sent may vary slightly from the product image. The plant's dimensions are specified in the photo description, but this may also vary slightly because it is a living being! Each of the plants at Desert CITY has unique characteristics.
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