Bloodspine Fanflower

This short caudiciform grows up to 3 feet (91.4 cm) tall. The wide stem is gray-green, and is covered in thick sheets of rigid blood red spines. The wide, cream trunk can grow to as much as 3 feet (91.4 cm) in diameter. Its copper and silver branches trail down across the ground.

The rounded-edged, fan-like leaves are yellow-green with blue tips. They are resilient, but take some effort to detach.

It is slow growing, taking 12 years to reach maturity. Once mature, a single flower with petals that are deep yellow at the sides and dark grey at the center grows at the top, reappearing every year. The flower head is made up of handfuls of petals in raised layers. It has a strong scent that smells like faeces.

The caudiciform's skin is rock-hard, the white flesh is rough, and the brown sap is thin.