Euphorbia clandestina and acolyte

It is not clear whether the little one is a neighbour or a belated branch from the base of the tall Euphorbia clandestina plant.

The long, narrow leaves are glaucous (blue-green), channelled and round-tipped. They grow in the same stem-tip area where the cyathia or false flowers are clustered. The tall, conical stem tubercles lower down are pale yellow-green, arranged in elegantly spiralling rows up the stem.

Leaves and flowers appear annually higher up around the stem tip, leaving only the pointy tubercles where the action was during previous years.

This plant was seen at Dwarsrivier near Ladismith in August, the time when the plant is expected to bloom (Vlok and Schutte-Vlok, 2010).