🌱 Morphology

Kokerbos · Pegleg butterbush · Wallich's Tylecodon. It is a deciduous succulent shrub, with an upright habit, which can reach approximately 60–80 cm in height and present thick, sparsely branched stems. The stems, ranging from greenish-gray to brownish-gray, are covered by numerous phyllopodia: old hardened leaf bases that remain on the stem after the leaves have fallen, forming the characteristic conical or truncated bumps that give the plant its spiny appearance.

The leaves appear clustered towards the ends of the branches. They are linear, cylindrical, or slightly channeled, glabrous, green to yellowish-green, and about 3–15 cm long. They are deciduous and usually drop before or during flowering, leaving the phyllopodia exposed.

🌍 Distribution, habitat, and family

Family Crassulaceae. It is a species native to southern Africa, distributed from Namibia to the Cape provinces of South Africa, especially in arid and semi-arid areas of Namaqualand, the Karoo, and the Little Karoo. It grows on sandy or stony slopes, rocky surfaces, stony plains, and Karoo scrub environments, generally in winter rainfall regions. It can be found from approximately 50 to 1500 m in altitude.

❄️ Temperature

USDA Zone 8b–11b. It is one of the Tylecodon species that tolerate cold and even frost episodes during the dry period, provided that the substrate remains well-drained and the plant is dormant. The combination of low temperatures and persistent humidity should be especially avoided.

☀️ Lighting

Very intense lighting is recommended, with a target of 15–25 mol·m⁻²·day⁻¹ of DLI PAR during the active period. Exposure to direct sun promotes compact stems and good phyllopodia formation, but plants grown in low light should be acclimated gradually.

💧 Growth cycle and watering

It is a winter and early spring-growing Tylecodon, adapted to a climate of winter rains and dry summers. During the active phase, it is recommended to water abundantly and allow the substrate to dry out completely before watering again.

With the arrival of heat, senescence and leaf drop begin, and the plant enters summer dormancy. During this period, watering should be reduced drastically, keeping the plant practically dry and especially avoiding excess moisture around the roots.

🌸 Flowering

The flowers appear in erect and branched inflorescences, supported by long peduncles that can reach about 35–60 cm. They are numerous, slightly pendulous, yellow to greenish-yellow, with tubular corollas approximately 7–12 mm long and a glandular-pubescent surface. In its area of origin, it flowers mainly between December and January; in cultivation in Spain, flowering can shift to approximately June-July.

🌿 Nutrition

During the growth period, Desert CHOICE® Succulents is recommended, always after the plant has clearly resumed its vegetative activity. It can be supplemented with Desert CHOICE® Flowering before and during the formation of the inflorescences. Do not fertilize during summer dormancy.

This is an inimitable xerophyte grown in Madrid in a technological square pot and with the substrate activated with mycorrhizal fungi and biofungicides.