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Cacti & Succulents

What is this? Succulent/cactus ID

6 years ago

last modified: 6 years ago

So i got this cactus(?) from my mom today. She told me it was a Christmas cactus. It was grown from her bigger one, which is about 4 ft tall with lots of different branches coming off it growing straight up. When i got it home i started searching Christmas cacti to know more about how to take care of it. This thing and her bigger one, look no where near any picture of a Christmas cactus i seen. She says it flowers tho. To me the only thing i came close to it looking like was an African milk tree. But neither this or hers has the leaves a milk tree had, but this one looks like maybe it could be starting to get little tiny leaves.. Anyone have an idea what this could be? I'd appreciate any help.

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Comments (4)

Kara 9b SF Bay Area CA
6 years ago
Definitely an Euphorbia. Maybe E. lactea, but I'm really not sure. Somebody else may know:). Euphorbias that have leaves like The African Milk Tree loose their leaves all the time. Mine never stay on. I've noticed the ones grown inside always have their leaves. I think my plant isn't watered enough that's why it drops its leaves:).

Idk if you read, but Euphorbias have a white toxic goo that leaks out when cut. This stuff can cause rashes or worse and will cause blindness. So always protect yourself when dealing with this plant:).
September thanked Kara 9b SF Bay Area CA
September
Original Author
6 years ago
last modified: 6 years ago
It was inside by a window when i got it.. Scary about the goo! I have a 7 yr old... He's good about doing what he's told if i tell him to stay away, but at 7 you never know lol. I might not want to risk it. Thanks for the info!
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Comments (11)
Not to worry about flowers on the Astroloba, Greenwood. In this case, that wouldn't help. I'm fairly certain it is in that genus. Personally, I like the color on it, but you might want to give it more water, if you want it to green up. Dzitmoidonc is correct about your Mamm. not being a bombycina, since hooked spines are absent. You are too kind thinking I'd know this, D! WAY too many in the genus Mammillaria! I'm leaning more toward Mammillaria haageana ssp. elegans (they may have elevated it to species level...M. elegans, but I don't know). These guys are variable, as so many Mamms. That's what makes them so hard to ID. Flowers might help to narrow down the field. I'm hoping D. or someone else will come to your rescue on the columnar. My brain is fried for the day! Did anyone over at CG help you with the cactus IDs?
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Comments (7)
Sarah The offsets could be removed and potted separately (they look large enough) - let them callus a bit (is that what you were referring to as give it a little bit of time ?). But as Brad said, new well-draining mix would be much better. Don't over-water the offsets - while they don't have roots, they can take the water and the stems may start rotting. Second plant is very nice... Rina
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Re: Karen R. Sternberg Hahaha yeahh its a fittonia! Originally I had it in a terrarium... But unfortunately it didn't like the condition very much and started wilting... I'm not too sure what I did wrong but I followed some advise to put it in a bathroom... But it just got worst.. So I gave up and replanted it :( its looking better now.. Maybe sometime later I would replant it in a more humid area :D thanks a lot!
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ID a cactus/succulent: looks like a mace with long leaves
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Comments (10)
Your plant looks like a Pachypodium, which is actually not a cactus. I think it may be getting too much water and I suspect the soil and the pot are holding too much water to allow the soil to dry out enough before watering again. Does the pot have a drainage hole? If it were my plant I would carefully unpot the plant and inspect it for rot. The dark coloration at the top could indicate rot, hard to tell from pictures but combined with the shriveling trunk I would look at the roots and see if they are dark, mushy or gone. Can you get some perlite? I would mix perlite with the soil so it's more like 60% perlite (or more) / 40% soil. It needs to be less moisture retentive & dense and the perlite will help with that. The plant needs a lot of sun (acclimate slowly) and has distinct dormant periods that you have to be aware of as the don't like to be watered at that time much if at all. Hope this helps, good luck!
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Christina Rothfus
5 years ago
Euphorbia lactea white ghost
Polypompholyx
5 years ago
last modified: 5 years ago
Actually, it looks a bit too green to be the 'White Ghost' except for the lower front arm in the picture. Maybe the greener main plant grew from a sport from a 'White Ghost'?

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