Synonyms:

No synonyms are recorded for the name “Euphorbia horrida crested form”. Here below, though, are the synonyms of the name “Euphorbia horrida”:

Euphorbia horrida var. horrida
Euphorbia horrida var. major
Euphorbia horrida var. noorsveldensis
Euphorbia horrida var. striata

Habitat:

Euphorbia horrida crested form is a nursery-produced cultivar and thus doesn’t exist in nature. Euphorbia horrida is native to South Africa, where it inhabits the lower Great Karoo. The great Karoo is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa, defined by extremes of heat and cold and low annual rainfall. It hosts many fossils of an ancient well preserved ecosystem and tons of succulent species.

Description:

Euphorbia horrida is a succulent plant growing up to 75 centimeters – 1,5 meters in height. The crested form, instead, stays rather small, reaching a maximum height of 20-30 centimeters. Though its unfortunate name, horrida, meaning precisely “horrid” in latin, it is sought after by succulent enthusiasts, as it definitely looks like a cactus, though it’s not. The crested from is even more sought after for its convoluted stem that creates intricacies which are unique for each specimen. Crested forms, in general, are rare genetic mutations that occur spontanously in some species, giving them an odd, peculiar aspect. Crested varieties are the result of a phenomenon called “Fasciation”. Fasciation is an abnormal growth condition of vascular plants where the apical meristem, or any other cellular tissue of vegetative buds, produces new cells just in two directions, and the resulting stem or flower becomes elongated and flattened perpendicularly to the normal direction of cellular growth. In the case of succulents, the bidirectional growth pattern results in fan-shaped stems that tend to become wavy and more or less lumpy depending on the species. In Euphorbia horrida crested form, the bidirectional growth habit creates a vertically-flattened stem that keeps curling on itself and ends up in creating a brain-shaped appearance, in which the intricacies are so packed up on each other that the resulting plant looks like a walnut. In this odd, peculiar structure, we can’t talk about “branches”: there is only one stem that keeps growing and curling on itself. This stem is deep green in colour and equipped with densely crowded tubercles that make its surface very rough. Spines are absent, and so are the rudimentary leaves sometimes visible in some Euphorbia species. At the top of the crest, the stem might show a purplish-red hint in its colour.
Flowers are usually absent in crested forms, as the whole mechanism of cellular division and tissue organization is altered and so it is the differentiation into flowering cells.

Cultivation:

Euphorbias are, in general, tough plants and easy to grow, though crested forms are more delicate. Here below are our tips:

Put it in a bright spot, though avoid direct sunlight during the hottest hours of summer days. Prefer filtered or indirect light.
Keep it a temperatures above 5-8ºC, since this species is among subtropical Euphorbias and is more cold-tolerant. Make sure its substrate stays completely dry during the Winter to avoid rotting. The suitable temperature range goes from 5 to 15ºC.
Water abundantly but unfrequently in Spring and Summer, during the growth season, waiting for the soil to dry up completely before each irrigation. In Winter and Autumn, suspend watering.
Choose a very well-drained soil: a mix for succulents should do good. It has to have an abundant mineral part, made of pumice, clay or lapilli.
Fertilize once a year with a product rich in Phosphorus and Potassium and poor in Nitrogen. Dilute the product to half the doses recommended on the label. Never fertilize from September onwards: the stems might become fragile and too rich in water: a lush growth that might be fatal during the Winter. Fertilization can be unnecessary at all if you plant your E. horrida crested in a fresh compost from the beginning.
Repot whenever the plant outgrows its pot. Choose pots that are only slightly larger than the diameter of the plant, like 1 or 2 centimeters wider.

Propagation:

Being a crested form, Euphorbia horrida crested can’t be reproduced by seed. The only viable way is cutting, which is the only method that conserves the altered cellular growth properties. Cut a part of the crested stem in Spring and Summer and wash it with warm water to remove the latex, let it dry up for a couple of days and then replant in a light, sandy substrate that should be kept moist and at mild temperature (20ºC) until it has put roots. You’ll have to wait around a month / 6 weeks until this happens. The pot should be filled with 2 layers: one of nutrient compost underneath and one made only of coarse grit above it. The cutting should be placed only on the grit, so that the young roots are allowed to penetrate the porous superficial layer, to finally reach the rich compost underneath onec they are fully developed and less prone to overwetting and rot. We recommend to help yourself with a rooting hormone. Another viable method is grafting: E. horrida crested is often found grafted on columnar cacti.

Curiosity:

The latex of Euphorbias is often used in pharmaceutical industry because of its medicinal effects. Euphorbia horrida has even a common name, “African milk barrel”, referring to the particularly abundant latex exudating from the stem of this species.

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www.giromagicactus.com

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