Euphorbia vandermerwei

Euphorbia vandermerwei is a branching stem succulent. The plant in picture shows stems across different life stages, variously coloured and constricted into long, uneven sections.

The cyathia of this species grow solitary on new growth of the four stem ridges near the stem tips, positioned in the indentations between the spine shields. The cyathia are thickly globular; on closer inspection squatly cylindrical in shape, spreading slightly at the top. Each cyathium contains five male or staminate flowers surrounding the one female or carpellate one that will develop into a fruit containing the seeds. Five crescent-shaped to kidney-shaped nectar producing glands surround the cyathium in a fleshy yellow ring, solely there for assuring pollinator diligence.

The plant is a South African endemic found in Mpumalanga. The species has a stable population in its habitat of granite outcrops in the bushveld. It is not considered threatened early in the twenty first century (http://mygreenhouse.hwoodgroup.net/; www.redlist.sanbi.org).