Huernia loeseneriana stems

Huernia loeseneriana is a branching stem succulent reaching clumps with heights around 5 cm. The erect or ascending stems are thickset, between cylindrical and square, always four-angled becoming about 2 cm thick. The vertical, angled stem ridges have spaced soft and short, whitish spines, initially sharply pointed to triangular or thin and elongated, but often dropping off early.

In picture there are stems with more or less flat surfaces between the ridges, others slightly grooved or bulging on these surfaces, while several stems are steeply pyramidal, tapering to the top. Stem colouring is often pale green, sometimes purple-tinted, while those in the photo also carry some yellowish to olive green colouring (Hardy and Fabian, 1992; White and Sloane, 1937).