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  Euphorbia piscidermis CACTUS ART
NURSERY

Cultivation and Mail Sale
of Cacti and Succulents.


Euphorbia piscidermis is a very unusual collectors plant and one of the most remarkable of succulents.
 

Description: This is a small succulent euphorbia covered with characteristic “fish-scales” that looks something like a small golf ball, It can branch slowly. When it is not in flower, no one would suspect it of being a euphorbia.
Stems: Up to 12 cm tall, 7 cm in diameter covered with paste-white fish-scale like imbricate appendages.

Cultivation: The Fish Skin Euphorb is difficult to grow on its own roots, and is generally grafted. It is a difficult species to grow on its own roots and is usually grafted for convenience on E. canariensis or E. resinifera but it can be easily degrafted by those who wish to try to grow them on their own roots. If you remove an offset, remember to let it dry for a week or so, letting the wound heal (cutting planted to soon easily rot before they can grow roots). It is better to wash the cut to remove the latex. They grow well in a very draining mineral potting substrate.Frost Tolerance: Need frost protection. Sun Exposure: Light shade.

 

 

Photo of conspecific taxa, varieties, forms and cultivars of Euphorbia piscidermis.

 


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Family: Euphorbiaceae

Scientific name:  Euphorbia piscidermis M.G.Gilbert 1974 (s)

Origin: It is native to Ethiopia (Ogaden), around 1000 m of elevation.

Common NameFish Skin Euphorb
 


The stem is closely shingled with scale-like appendages. (The name 'piscidermis' comes from the Latin for 'fish-skin', refering to the scale-covered skin) such scales being otherwise unknown in the genus Euphorbia.
 

 


Grafting:
The
plants that are grafted on a more vigorous and easier stocks are easier to keep, grow faster and produce more flowers and seeds. The method of grafting euphorbias differs little from that of other succulents, except in one important aspect. The latex must be washed or sprayed off until hardly anything remains. After the latex flow has stopped, a further 1-2 mm slice can be taken from both surfaces without a new latex flow starting. Both scion and stock need to be at the start of the growing season. The stock should be cut as near as possible to the growing tip, as here the vascular bundles are dense and not yet woody and will feed the scion in the best possible way. Where possible stock and scion should be of similar diameter. The cut surfaces are held together with elastic bands in cross style, over the plant top and under the pot. The plants should be left in an airy and shady place for 7-10 days before the bands are removed.

Warning:
As with all other Euphorbias when a plant get damaged it exudes a thick white milky sap known as latex. This latex  is poisonous
and particularly dangerous for the eyes, skin and mucous membranes. So pay extreme attention not to get any in your eyes or mouth.  Cultivated plants must be handled carefully.

Photo gallery: Alphabetical listing of Cactus and Succulent pictures published in this site.

Photo gallery EUPHORBIA

Home | E-mail | Plant files | Mail Sale Catalogue | Links | Information | Search

All the information and photos in cactus art files are now available also in the new the Encyclopaedia of Succulents. We hope you find this new site informative and useful.