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by Bill
(Chico, CA)

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This plant is 4″ – 5″ tall, and has several dark green branches with purple, not particularly sharp “spines.” It also appears to cold tolerant into the 20’s.

Comments for Small Unknown Succulent

Jan 12, 2015

Fearsome ‘spines’
by: Jacki

At first glance this appears to be a cactus of some sort, but your description of the softness of the spines leads me to believe that it’s not a cactus, it’s just pretending to be. How cool is that?

There are several plants that mimic other plants or even natural objects, such as the pebble plants. This is to prevent animals from attempting to use them as food – a very good tactic when you’re fleshy and full of stored water.

This plant could be one of the Stapelia, or Carrion Flowers, but it will take a while for it to bloom to see if this is really what it is. You can see two of the most common species here;

Huernia

Stapelia

Let me know if it blooms, and what the flowers look like?