Blood Red Succulent

This short leaf succulent grows up to 10 feet (3.0 meters) tall. The pleated stem is pink-red, and is covered in thick sheets of rigid blood red spines. The thick leaves are red and dark grey. Small amounts of them grow on very thick, burgundy branches that trail down across the ground. The leaves are sturdy, but take little effort to detach.

It is fast growing, taking 4 months to reach maturity. Once mature, and only under the right conditions, a handful of flowers, with each petal a slightly different shade of lilac, grow at the top, reappearing after 6 years, but only when the conditions are right again. The flower head is shaped like a star made up of handfuls of widely spaced, narrow petals. It has a delicate scent that smells like new carpet.

The leaf succulent's skin is thin, the white flesh is rubbery, and the green sap is thin.