€7,95

🌱 Morphology
It looks as if an Euphorbia submammillaris had decided to abandon the rules of plant architecture. Instead of growing in orderly columns, it produces a multitude of small shoots that crowd against each other until they become a true living sculpture. Each head seems to want to occupy its own space, but they all end up forming a compact, irregular, and fascinating mass, like a small green reef emerged from the earth.

It is a monstrose form of Euphorbia submammillaris characterized by anomalous growth and a very intense proliferation of shoots. The stems develop short, thickened, and very close together, losing the regular columnar shape of the typical species. The small segments retain the tubercles arranged in ribs that characterize the taxon, but their disordered growth generates numerous heads of different sizes and an extraordinarily complex surface. Over time, it can form large compact masses. The spines are small and appear irregularly among the tubercles. Like all Euphorbia, it produces white latex when injured. The monstrose forms of this species are plants of horticultural origin and are propagated vegetatively to maintain their growth pattern.

🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family
This is not an independent natural population, but rather a monstrose form obtained and maintained in cultivation. The reference taxon, Euphorbia submammillaris, comes from South Africa, where it is found between Albertinia and Grahamstown, in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces. It lives on stony plains and slopes, among scrubland and on alluvial deposits and shale terrain. It belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family. 

❄️ Temperature — USDA Zone 9b–11b
It tolerates minimum temperatures of up to −4 ºC if it remains completely dry, is well-acclimated, and exposure to cold is brief. In cultivation, the combination of low temperatures and humidity should be especially avoided.

☀️ Lighting
During active growth, it needs intense lighting, with a target of approximately 18–25 mol/m²/day of DLI PAR. It tolerates direct sun after progressive acclimation. High lighting helps keep the numerous shoots compact and prevents excessively weak or elongated growth.

💧 Growth cycle and watering
Winter dormancy.
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. In a plant with so many clustered shoots, it is especially important that the substrate has rapid drainage and does not remain wet for long periods.

🌸 Flowering
It can produce small cyathia among the numerous shoots, although the flowering is visually much more hidden than in a plant with normal growth. In Euphorbia mammillaris, flowering is concentrated mainly between May and October in its natural area; in Madrid, it can appear during the warm 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 technological square pot and with the substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi.

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