Euphorbia davyi N.E.Br.

Plant: a dwarf succulent, spineless but with persistent remains of the peduncles; main stem a continuation of the somewhat thickened main root and partly buried in the ground, but not forming a fleshy central body, producing laterally from near the base a number of branches, which usually rebranch 2 or 3 times and all (including the elongated main stem) are of uniform thickness at their upper part and attain a nearly even height or distance from the root, thus forming together a somewhat obconic mass about 20 to 25 cm in diameter; branches up to 15 cm long, the flowering ones about 1.2 cm thick, cylindric, covered with crowded tubercles; tubercles rhomboid, 4 to 5 mm long and about equally broad, 1 to 1.2 mm prominent at the central leaf-scarred apex, not recurved; Leaves: produced in a small tuft at the apex of the growing branches, soon deciduous, recurved-spreading, 4 to 6 mm or perhaps more long, linear-lanceolate, longitudinally folded on the upper side; Inflorescence: cyathia solitary, produced 3 to 5 around the apex of each flowering branch on peduncles arising from the axils of the tubercles; peduncles about 4 mm long, becoming elongated in the fruiting stage to from 0.5 to 1.7 cm long, bearing a number of bracts, ultimately withering and persisting; bracts about 2 mm long, suboblong, ciliate, the upper 3 or 4 forming an irregular whorl 1.5 to 2 mm below the involucre; involucre cup-shaped, about 6 mm in diameter including the glands, with 5 glands and 5 subquadrate, lacerate, ciliate lobes; glands distant, 1 to 1.5 mm in their greater diameter, crescent-shaped, subsessile, minutely punctate on the upper surface, with 2 to 4 somewhat reflexed processes along the outer margin; Pistillate flower: ovary sessile, pilose on the upper part; styles 1.5 mm long, united at the base into a short column for about one-third of their length, free above, the free portion about 1 mm long, grooved along the upper surface, with slightly expanded tips.