Description
The Little Karoo, southern Cape and Eastern Cape form the home or habitat of Euphorbia mammillaris, yet another succulent plant that is endemic to this part of the country. Just the few branches and club-shaped stems make up this small plant as the short-lived, tiny leaves drop off soon. The plant grows to a height of 35 cm. When branches emerge higher than ground level, they are upwardly curved. The number of ridges or ribs varies considerably, usually between seven and ten, but there are sometimes up to seventeen. The long whitish spines, the sterile peduncles of past cyathia, display a few tiny, scattered hooks. This plant is dioecious, male and female flowers growing on separate plants. There are nectar guides of varying colour, including purple and pink, among the cyathia. The cyathia are yellowish green and the lobed fruits on the very short stalks are green (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010 and www.cactus-art.biz).
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