A woody shrub-like spineless Euphorbia from southern Madagascar, which forms a silver-barked trunk and full crown of branches with narrow dark green/gray leaves.

Most amazing is the size of the caudex it ultimately makes, a gourd-like, woody main root up to 6 inches thick which can be elevated above the soil. Makes a great succulent bonsai subject.

THIS PLANT IS ON C.I.T.E.S. AND CANNOT BE EXPORTED

A pachycaul native to Madagascar where it attains tree-like dimensions. In cultivation it responds to pot size and will remain dwarfed if kept in smaller containers. The silvery trunk is thick and covered with heavy spines and is crowned with light green, six to ten inch leaves. Very easy to cultivate and useful in xeriscaping in frost free areas. Makes a good house plant, and often goes by the name of 'Madagascar Palm' but of course, it is not palm at all. 

Pachypodiums go dormant in winter and lose their leaves. Do not be alarmed by this natural leaf drop. 

THIS PLANT IS ON C.I.T.E.S. AND CANNOT BE EXPORTED

A procumbent, shrub-like Euphorbia with a surprisingly ample caudex. The plant is a low grower with pencil thick branches bearing tiny spines. When in leaf, the foliage is oblong, with wavy margins and slightly pubescent. The cyathea vary from chartreuse to tan or pinkish-red. The caudex will form underground but can be elevated above the soil. It gets quite thick, to about 2 inches in time. Native to the area of Tongobory in southeastern Madagascar.

An interesting little shrub-like, caudiciform tree from Oaxaca, Mexico with a thickly swollen trunk and tan to reddish peeling bark. The dense branches have small obovate, deciduous leaves and bear tiny, aromatic fruits. Great for bonsai work. The leaves may turn bright colors if exposed to cool temps in the fall of the year.

THIS PLANT IS ON C.I.T.E.S. AND CANNOT BE EXPORTED

Spontaneous or accidental Euphorbia hybrids that appear as ‘weeds’ on our benches. Variable in size, shape and character, but are all nice. Most have Euphorbia milii as one parent and have spiny, branching stems, narrow to rounded leaves and red to orange or green flowers.

Many form thick, gnarled trunks desirable for bonsai culture, and there have been some caudiciforms among them. No two alike.

One of nature’s most spectacular specimens! When young, it is beautiful, with stiff bluish leaves that form tufts at the head of the stem or lateral branches. A nice caudex will form, having a reddish tint and a deeply sculpted tortoise shell pattern. Very slow growing, it may take 25 years to reach the size of a basketball.

Native to the Tehuacan desert of southern Mexico, where harsh conditions must make growth even slower. All the more amazing is the fact that this plant can reach the mass of an automobile. In fact, small plants are rare in nature. Thousands of large specimens dot the landscape, with massive trunks six to ten feet in diameter, maybe more. Knowing their slow rate of growth, it is not hard to imagine that some of the massive specimens must be over a thousand years old. These massive specimens have numerous branches and are host to many of the local Tillandsia species.

This plant is on C.I.T.E.S. and can not be exported.

Known as the ‘Elephant Tree’ in Baja, this is a fascinating and decorative tree of the Sonoran and associated floral zones of northern Mexico into extreme southern California and Arizona. Thick trunks with peeling whitish bark are grossly thick, forming a caudex, especially in plants with a restricted root zone. The foliage is pinnately compound and very lacy and delicate looking, deciduous in most instances. The sap is aromatic and the tiny fruits are quite fragrant. Growing to tree-like proportions under ideal conditions, it is also found in a dwarfed state with a Bonsai-like appearance.

Definitely an unusual species, with few but thickly succulent leaves in a compact rosette. A neat 'windowed' species with a background color of dark green, tinted reddish, turning darker red in bright light and the leaf surface is patterned with gold tessellations. Flaring white and greenish-brown striped flowers appear on a tall arching scape that can reach over three feet! In nature, this species often grows under shrubs, sending it's inflorescence up through the foliage into the view of pollinators.

THIS PLANT IS ON C.I.T.E.S. AND CANNOT BE EXPORTED

An attractive and bizarrely beautiful Euphorb from Madagascar. Thick, procumbent stems bear distinctive leaf scars and inch-long, succulent, very crisped or crinkled leaves. A very flat growing, mat forming shrub with an underground caudex. Flowers or cyathea are tan to pinkish. Light exposure will determine color which can range from deep green to pinkish brown. A superb plant for container culture or rock garden. Water about weekly in warm months and allow a drier rest during cooler periods. Propagate from seed or stem cuttings.

THIS PLANT IS ON C.I.T.E.S. AND CANNOT BE EXPORTED

An unusual spiny plant that attains a fairly large size, making it a good landscape plant. The thick leaves are upturned and covered with conical spines. The inflorescence is a huge branched panicle of orange flowers.

THIS PLANT IS ON C.I.T.E.S. AND CANNOT BE EXPORTED

This is a new but as yet taxonomically undescribed species from Tanzania. Collected by Mike Massara, it is a tall shrub, at least in our collection, with small, deciduous leaves. It apparently forms a pachycaul trunk in time. Not much information for sure, but then it's all that we know.