![]() ![]() This makes the Discocactus subterraneo-proliferans the rarest succulent in the world. It is listed on the IUCN as critically endangered and it is believed that there may be fewer than 50 plants being grown privately by people around the world. Not much is known about the Discocactus subterraneo-proliferans, which doesn’t really have a common name, other than it may be extinct in the wild. Photo source: Wikimedia Commons via EddieEstevesPereira Scientific Name: Discocactus subterraneo-proliferans Location (Range): Britania, Goiás, Brazil Some of the greatest threats to the Giant Quiver Tree, are its naturally small population, illegal collecting, low natural recruitment, and habitat loss through mining and livestock farming.Ĭurrent Estimated Number: likely extinct in the wild, fewer than 50 in private collections As its name implies, the Giant Quiver Tree can grow very tall, reaching a maximum height of about 10 m (32.8 ft). The Giant Quiver Tree and the other aloe trees used to be classified as aloes, but a new genus, Aloidendron, was created for these unique succulent trees. According to the IUCN Red List there may be fewer than 200 individual Giant Quiver Trees remaining in the wild. Of the three African aloe trees, the Giant Quiver Tree or Aloidendron pillansii is the rarest. While the Giant Quiver Tree may not look like most succulents, it is one of three aloe trees native to southern Africa – all aloe plants are succulents. ![]() Photo source: Wikimedia Commons via Andrew massyn ![]() Scientific Name: Aloidendron pillansii (previously Aloe pillansii Location (Range): Ritchersveld, Cape Province, South Africa and possibly as far north as Brandberg, Namibia Conservationists discourage people from taking the Sand Dollar Cactus from the wild because it is actually quite easy to grow from seeds and cuttings. The last update, from 2015, on the wild population numbers of the Sand Dollar Cactus estimated that there were only about 2,000 individual plants left. However, this popularity makes the Sand Dollar Cactus vulnerable in the wild and the IUCN Red List reports that people from around the world often illegally remove the cactus from the wild and mail them home. The Sand Dollar Cactus has been a popular ornamental succulent since it was first collected in the mid-1800s. This cute little cactus is widely cultivated by succulent/cacti enthusiasts. The Sand Dollar Cactus (also called sea urchin cactus, star cactus, or star peyote) is a rare spineless cactus that is native to parts of Texas and Mexico. The slow growing kokerbooms occur mainly on rocky plains or slopes, storing water in their succulent leaves and fibrous trunk and branches.Location (Range): Texas, USA and Tamaulipas and Nuevo León, Mexico They are also known as Kokerboom in Afrikaans, and they produce a bright yellow flower in June/July, common in the southern Namib Desert and the Northern Cape of South Africa. Flower spikes of the quiver tree are yellow, up to 300mm long and are held above the leaves.īirds, mammals and insects are attracted to the copious nectar and they can be grown from seed, but it requires dry conditions. The bark is smooth and yellowish, splitting and peeling with age and the branches are spreading and the leaves held erect. The trunk is up to 1m in diameter at the base, tapering upwards. The quiver tree is in fact the genus, Aloe, called Aloe dictoma in Latin, so therefore the Aloe family is officially a plant not a tree.Ī succulent usually 3-7m tall with a sturdy trunk 1m in diameter, it has a dense, roundish crown. These trees were given their name in the 17th century when bushmen hunter/gatherers were seen to manufacture quivers for their arrows from the bark of the branches. The quiver trees are endemic to the southern highlands of Namibia and grow in desert or semi-desert. ![]()
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