Caudiciforms: Signs of summer, 1 by Baja_Costero

Baja_Costero wrote:
Alluaudia with about a month of new growth. The young spines are sort of rubbery.

If you look closely at the leaves, you can see that the primary leaves are oriented horizontally, while the secondary leaves lower down are oriented vertically.

The six-legged visitor is a frequent companion of new growth. The ants bring in mealies and aphids. A few days after I took this picture, I picked a couple of mealy bugs off the plant. Since I don't use a lot of pesticides, I have to keep an eye on where the ants are most active.