Euphorbia obesa (male)

This plant is often called the "basketball" plant, or the "baseball" plant. Perhaps in honor of the World Cup, we should call it the "football" or "soccer" plant? This is a male plant, evident from its copious pollen.

Euphorbia obesa ssp. symmetrica

Often sold as Euphorbia symmetrica, now considered a subspecies of E. obesa, this becomes a really nice specimen plant but is quite attractive as a small plant. And then there are the striking euphorbia flowers, which are either male or female, depending on the plant. Want to get seed, get two plants which have already been determined to be one or the other. Otherwise, buy a bunch and hope for the best!  :)

Euphorbia symmetrica

Now considered by many authorities to be a subspecies of Euphorbia obesa, these were seeded as E. symmetrica. For the novice - or even the expert - it's pretty difficult to tell the difference. Right now, these are getting through our grey days without much sun to bring out the colors. Even when it is sunny, as it has been quite often this winter, the angle of the sun is too low to make much of a difference. Ah, but later this spring...

Euphorbia obesa ssp. symmetrica

Often listed either as Euphorbia symmetrica or totally swallowed up within E. obesa, this is a beautiful form of  the plant. For now, we'll accept the monicker:  Euphorbia obesa subsp. symmetrica. This is still a small plant but the markings are already impressive. From the first year we started growing succulents, back in ancient times ;), we've always kept this or one of it's cousins close at hand.