Euphorbia gamkensis pointing fingers

Some arched or leaning cylindrical stems of Euphorbia gamkensis represent the long and the short and the tall of this young plant.

The upper surface of the caudex from which the stems emerge is still small, the stems in its centre the shortest. As the base of the plant thickens, more new stems will appear right in the centre.

The stem tips are dull pinkish purple, grey-green lower down. The bulging tubercles are irregularly hexagonal, like a first attempt at constructing a kite; their imbricate pattern lending elegance. A tiny white scar remains on each tubercle from the earlier cyathium stalk (www.bihrmann.com).