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Pedilanthus bracteatus (Slipper plant) - Growing to around 6 feet tall (to 9 feet in habitat), this upright succulent branches from the base and has cylindrical green stems with ovate leaves near the branch tips that have a thick prominent mid-vein on the lower surface. All vegetative parts of the plant are often sparsely hairy. In the warmth of late spring and summer through fall appear the curiously shaped red cyathia (flower structures containing separate male and female parts) that are enclosed in rounded reddish-pink bracts near the branch tips.
Plant in full sun to light shade (leafy but with fewer flowers in deeper shade) in a well-drained soil and water sparingly to not at all. This plant has been hardy for us to down to at least 25° F and it is listed by some as being hardy to 20°. This plant is a fun addition in the garden in the ground or as a container specimen.
Pedilanthus bracteatus is native to dry deciduous woodlands in Mexico from Sonora to Guerrero. The name Pedilanthus comes from the Greek words 'pedil' meaning "shoe" and 'anthos' meaning "flower" in reference to the shoe-shaped flower structures that some members of the genus have and the specific epithet for this species means "bearing bracts" in reference its prominent bracts. This plant is easily distinguished from Pedilanthus macrocarpus, a Baja California species (which we also grow) that is also seen in southwestern gardens, by its taller height and longer straighter stems as well as the presence of leaves at the branch tips which the leafless Pedilanthus macrocarpus lacks. We also grow the much smaller and grayer Pedilanthus cymbiferus. The curious flowers on several Pedilanthus species are somewhat shoe-shaped and give this genus the common name Slipper Plant. Other common names include Slipper Spurge and Candelilla (more commonly associated with Euphorbia antisyphilitica and Pedilanthus macrocarpus), for the hard brown wax from this species.
The Pedilanthus have been reclassified many times, and the current treatment is to include them with the genus Euphorbia, making this plant's valid name Euphorbia bracteata - we continue to list it as Pedilanthus until such time as this change is more widely recognized. Our thanks to Santa Barbara landscape contractor Cathleen Lynch, who first shared cuttings of this plant with us in 2008.
Information displayed on this page about Pedilanthus bracteatus is based on our research conducted about this plant in our nursery library as well as from information provided by reliable online resources. We also include our own observations made about it as it has grown in the nursery gardens and other gardens visited, as well how the crops of this plant performed in the containers in our nursery field. We will also include comments received from others and welcome hearing from anyone who has information about this plant, particularly if it includes cultural information aiding others to better grow it.
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