Coromandel Cacti beginners tour of the succulent world.

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Euphorbia Family. Sometimes similar in appearance to cacti with their upright columnar stems and spiny arms are the Euphorbias. But they take many other forms too and can constitute a whole collection in themselves. Closely related in the Euphorbia Family and also with milky sap are Monadenium, Synadenium, Pedilanthus, and Jatropha. All have the potential to be toxic if the sap makes contact with sensitive skin, eyes etc. So BE CAREFUL with these plants!

The Agave Family are mostly from the American continents and West Indies. Agave includes some 200 species. Sometimes considered a subgenus within Agave is Manfreda. Beaucarnea and Nolina are very close together and Calibanus with them also. Other, mostly large-growing easy landscape subjects are in Dracaena, Furcraea, Beschorneria, and Yucca. From Africa comes Sansevieria, decorative plants whose charms are still being discovered in horticulture. Our New Zealand cabbage trees (Cordyline spp) are also in this family, but not considererd succulent.

Asphodelaceae. Superficially similar to Agave is the Aloe genus, but Aloes flower regularly without dying afterwards. There are about 400 different species, many of them distinctive and beautiful. Quite closely related and usually smaller are Astroloba, Bulbine, Gasteria, Haworthia, and Poellnitzia.

Cactus and Succulent Tour Index
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