Monstrous Euphorbia horrida
EuphorbiaceaeEuphorbia horrida monstrosa · the monstrose form of the «African milk barrel»: the ribs lose their order and the plant grows as it pleases, with no two specimens alike. Blue-grey and spiny. Grown in full sun in Almería.
About Monstrous Euphorbia horrida
Ordinary Euphorbia horrida grows as a barrel of straight, orderly ribs, blue-grey and so cactus-like that in South Africa it is called the African milk barrel. This is its monstrose form: a mutation in which the growing point multiplies and the ribs stop following any order.
The result is a plant that grows in lumps, waves and crests, and no two specimens are alike, nor can they be. That is what makes it a collector's plant: you are not reproducing a pattern, you get whatever comes out.
What look like spines are not. They are the dried flower stalks of previous years, which the plant does not shed and which stay hardened along the edge of each rib. A cactus never does that.
Botanical fact sheet
| Scientific name | Euphorbia horrida f. monstrosa | |
| Family | Euphorbiaceae | |
| Origin | Great Karoo, Eastern Cape (South Africa) | |
| Natural habitat | arid plains of karroid scrub | |
| Adult size | 20-40 cm; it forms clusters over the years | |
| Flowering | small purple cyathia along the edge of the ribs | |
| Propagation | cutting or offset; the monstrose form is not inherited from seed | |
| Toxicity | irritant white latex |
Care
Direct sun, the more the better. That is what keeps the blue-grey tone; in part shade it turns green and stretches, and the monstrose form loses all its charm. It takes the Almería sun without scorching.
Very sparing watering in growth and none in winter. Mineral substrate and a fast-drying pot: the folds of the monstrose form hold water, and that is where the rot starts. When you water, water the base rather than over the top.
Did you know?
Monstrose forms turn up on their own in the nursery, without being induced: an ordinary seed-grown plant simply starts growing out of order one day and never goes back. Since it is not passed on through seed, every monstrose line in the world descends by cuttings from a single plant that mutated.
Luz
Direct sun or very bright light
Riego
Sparse: let the substrate dry out between waterings; reduce in winter
Sustrato
Very free-draining mineral substrate, specific for cacti and succulents
Temperatura
Protect below 8-10 °C (cold-sensitive)
