''Euphorbia obesa'' is a subtropical succulent

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the genus ''

Euphorbia ''Euphorbia'' is a very large and diverse genus of flowering plants, commonly called spurge, in the family Euphorbiaceae. "Euphorbia" is sometimes used in ordinary English to collectively refer to all members of Euphorbiaceae (in deference to t ...

''. It comes from

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

, especially the

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope ( af, Provinsie Kaap die Goeie Hoop), commonly referred to as the Cape Province ( af, Kaapprovinsie) and colloquially as The Cape ( af, Die Kaap), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequen ...

. Sometimes referred to as the baseball plant. In the wild it is endangered because of over-collection and poaching, combined with its slow growth, and the fact that the pod contains only 2 to 3 seeds. However, it is widely cultivated in botanical gardens.

Description

''Euphorbia obesa'' resembles a ball, thornless and decorative. It is commonly known as 'baseball plant' due to its shape. Its diameter is between 6 cm and 15 cm depending on its age. Young plants are spherical, but become cylindrical with age. They contain water reservoirs for periods of drought. It almost always shows 8 ridges adorned with small deep gibbosity regularly planted on the edges. It is green with horizontal lighter or darker stripes. In the wild, and with exposure to direct sunlight, it shows red and purple areas. The plant is dioecious, which means that a subject has only male or female flowers. The small flowers are insignificant in apex. In fact, like all ''Euphorbia'', flowers are called

cyathia A cyathium (plural: cyathia) is one of the specialised pseudanthia ("false flowers") forming the inflorescence of plants in the genus ''Euphorbia'' (Euphorbiaceae). A cyathium consists of: * Five (rarely four) bracteoles. These are small, uni ...

. As in all ''Euphorbia'' species, the latex is toxic. Living in similar conditions on two different continents, ''Euphorbia obesa'' presents a form of

convergence Convergence may refer to: Arts and media Literature *''Convergence'' (book series), edited by Ruth Nanda Anshen *Convergence (comics), "Convergence" (comics), two separate story lines published by DC Comics: **A four-part crossover storyline that ...

with ''

Astrophytum asterias ''Astrophytum asterias'' is a species of cactus in the genus '' Astrophytum'', and is native to small parts of Texas in the United States and Mexico. Common names include sand dollar cactus, sea urchin cactus, star cactus and star peyote. Desc ...

'' which is a cactus from Mexico.

Cultivation

In cultivation in the UK, ''Euphorbia obesa'' has won the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

's Award of Garden Merit. Image:E obesa obesa ies.jpg, Male flowers Image:Euphorbia obesa obesa3 ies.jpg, Female flowers Image:Euphorbia obesa obesa2 ies.jpg, Close-up of ridge

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q135673 obesa Endemic flora of South Africa obesa Garden plants of Africa Dioecious plants Taxa named by Joseph Dalton Hooker