English: Bushman Candle, Yellow Bushman's Candle.
Synonyms:
Monsonia crassicaulis; Sarcocaulon crassicaule.
Afrikaans: Groot Kersbos; Geelboesmanskers; Boesmanskers.
Region: Namibia, South Africa, Northern and western Cape.
Habitat: bushy, dry semi-desert; rocky places in gravel and on outcrops of weathered quartzite; altitude 300 to 1220 m.
Use: ornamental; bonsai, attractive.
BotanyShrublet; perennial; deciduous; succulent; low-growing; 20 to 60 cm tall, ± 50 cm in diameter; resembles a small tree.
Root: not swollen.
Stem: 3 to 8 cm in diameter; short, branching from 3-5 cm above the ground. Branches 1-1,5 cm in diameter, rigid, sparsely spined, which grow mostly horizontally, bark greyish-yellow, brownish or olive-green with a more or less translucent outer covering impregnated with wax which is inflammable and burns with a smoky flame even in green plants, hence the common name.
Spines: Thin, straight or recurved, greyish, rarely more than 30 mm long, base obovate
Leaves: small, ephemerals; unsegmented; fleshy, leathery; tufted or solitary in the axils of the thorns; greyish-green; broadly elliptic; margin irregularly lobate, crenate or dentate; only after rains; two types; long petioled leaves, ± 20 mm long. ± 10 mm wide, hardening into spines; short petioled, ± 15mm long, 4 to 14 mm wide; dropping during droughts.
Flower: conspicuous in a saucer shape; pale-yellow to white; 3 to 5 cm across; singly; sepals 5 to 13 mm long, 3 to 5 mm wide, hairless or finely hairy; petals 5, broad, crinkly, usually less than 2 cm long; stalk up to 4 cm long; blooming autumn to spring.