DENDROSICYOS SOCOTRANA - sometimes misnamed SOCOTRANUM or SOCOTRANUS - is the only member of the family CUCURBITACEAE that will develop a tree form.The cucurbit is known under its arabian name QAMHIYN.
The CUCURBITACEAE family is home of the gourds, melons and squashes. They are found throughout the world, from deserts to tropical forests.
DENDROSICYOS is growing on one or two islands of the socotran archipelago. The archipelago is composed of two rocky islets, four islands and Sokotra. Sokotra is the biggest island one. They are around 240 km east of the Horn of Africa and nearly 380 km south of the arabian peninsula.
The species has been discovered in 1882 by ISAAC BAYLEY BALFOUR, a scottish botanist, who made an expedition in 1880 to 1882 to the arabian peninsula.
The plants grow from the coastal plains up to the inland hills until 500 m. The inland hills are made of lime stone. In cracks and crevices eroded by rain, sun and wind, where earth is able to be build up, they thrive and flourish. The coastal plains have been built up from eroded material from the mountains and hills. They consist of alluvial sediments and sand.
The height of the plants may not exceed 6 m and its diameter may be up to 1 m.
The flowers are male and female in one and self fertile. So self pollination is possible and you may get your own seeds if you are lucky enough to own one plant.
DENDROSICYOS is a pachycaul succulent. The bark is whitish or yellowish. Its growing habit is somewhat unusual. If you let it grow then the leading shoot, forming the stem or trunk, will bend over after long growth. Then there will grow, out of an axille of the trunk, a branchlet which develops into the new stem or trunk. After some time and good growth again this stem or trunk will bend over and again a new branchlet will grow and become the new trunk. This is the way the becoming " tree " is build up.
There are two times when the monsoons are bringing rain to the archipelago.
The North-East Monsoon brings rain in April and May. The South-West Monsoon brings clouds and water from August until November.
Generally speaking it rains about 250 mm per year at its habitats. The humidity is equally shared over the whole year.
Temperatures shall be over 16 C and under 32 C. January is said to be the coldest month.
I cultivate them the same way I do my ADENIUM, DISCOCACTUS, MELOCACTUS, PACHYPODIUM and UEBELMANNIAS.
The young ones are kept in half shade and never get direct sun. The older they grow the better they are accustomed to the direct sun. That takes some time. Remember, young seedlings normally germinate in the shadow of a "Protector Plant" and grow and grow until they can overgrow it...or not. The same is true in your forest behind your house or in your family.
My substrate is my standard mineral composition. I only add some extra lime and cover the top of the pot with lime gravels.
I fertilize them every time I water them. My dosis is hence a very very very low one.
Watering depends on the weather. As with all my succulents I underwater them more than to water them to often. Allthough I do not mimic the tough desert conditions of their habitat.
Temperature should never be to "cold". The worst of it all would be "cold" temperatures and "wet" feets.
In winter they stand on an eastern window with heating nearby so that at night the temperature may never go under 15 C. Treated that way the greater part of my plants withhold their leaves.
I water them once or twice a month or never. This depends of their foliage of if they show some growth or none. I really can give no "written in stone" advice.
In spring, summer and autumn, if temperatures at night will not undergo 15 C I put them out and let sun and rain do my job.
Propagating is only possible by seed. All attempts I made in trying to root a branch or branchlet failed. This is due to the soft tissue that will not heal and build a "hard" kallus.
The CUCURBITACEAE family is home of the gourds, melons and squashes. They are found throughout the world, from deserts to tropical forests.
DENDROSICYOS is growing on one or two islands of the socotran archipelago. The archipelago is composed of two rocky islets, four islands and Sokotra. Sokotra is the biggest island one. They are around 240 km east of the Horn of Africa and nearly 380 km south of the arabian peninsula.
The species has been discovered in 1882 by ISAAC BAYLEY BALFOUR, a scottish botanist, who made an expedition in 1880 to 1882 to the arabian peninsula.
The plants grow from the coastal plains up to the inland hills until 500 m. The inland hills are made of lime stone. In cracks and crevices eroded by rain, sun and wind, where earth is able to be build up, they thrive and flourish. The coastal plains have been built up from eroded material from the mountains and hills. They consist of alluvial sediments and sand.
The height of the plants may not exceed 6 m and its diameter may be up to 1 m.
The flowers are male and female in one and self fertile. So self pollination is possible and you may get your own seeds if you are lucky enough to own one plant.
DENDROSICYOS is a pachycaul succulent. The bark is whitish or yellowish. Its growing habit is somewhat unusual. If you let it grow then the leading shoot, forming the stem or trunk, will bend over after long growth. Then there will grow, out of an axille of the trunk, a branchlet which develops into the new stem or trunk. After some time and good growth again this stem or trunk will bend over and again a new branchlet will grow and become the new trunk. This is the way the becoming " tree " is build up.
There are two times when the monsoons are bringing rain to the archipelago.
The North-East Monsoon brings rain in April and May. The South-West Monsoon brings clouds and water from August until November.
Generally speaking it rains about 250 mm per year at its habitats. The humidity is equally shared over the whole year.
Temperatures shall be over 16 C and under 32 C. January is said to be the coldest month.
I cultivate them the same way I do my ADENIUM, DISCOCACTUS, MELOCACTUS, PACHYPODIUM and UEBELMANNIAS.
The young ones are kept in half shade and never get direct sun. The older they grow the better they are accustomed to the direct sun. That takes some time. Remember, young seedlings normally germinate in the shadow of a "Protector Plant" and grow and grow until they can overgrow it...or not. The same is true in your forest behind your house or in your family.
My substrate is my standard mineral composition. I only add some extra lime and cover the top of the pot with lime gravels.
I fertilize them every time I water them. My dosis is hence a very very very low one.
Watering depends on the weather. As with all my succulents I underwater them more than to water them to often. Allthough I do not mimic the tough desert conditions of their habitat.
Temperature should never be to "cold". The worst of it all would be "cold" temperatures and "wet" feets.
In winter they stand on an eastern window with heating nearby so that at night the temperature may never go under 15 C. Treated that way the greater part of my plants withhold their leaves.
I water them once or twice a month or never. This depends of their foliage of if they show some growth or none. I really can give no "written in stone" advice.
In spring, summer and autumn, if temperatures at night will not undergo 15 C I put them out and let sun and rain do my job.
Propagating is only possible by seed. All attempts I made in trying to root a branch or branchlet failed. This is due to the soft tissue that will not heal and build a "hard" kallus.
Where can I get some seeds for this succulent? I have wanted to grow this ever since I saw it on Wikipedia. Do you know a seller or do you have seeds to sell?
ReplyDeleteNo one who has this plant and has flowering specimens sells seeds unfortunately (because they are so valuable and easy to germinate), but you can get them (at affordable prices) from UC Davis arboretum or sometimes in eBay.
ReplyDelete