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Flowers are sessile, fleshy and very variable in colour whitish cream, green,  yellow to dull pinkish uniformly coloured or maculate with reddish, purple  or maroon, and glabrous.
 

Description: Larryleachia cactiforme is a small perennial stem succulent mostly solitary (or slowly clumping). This species is quite variable particularly in the colour of flowers.
Stem: Globular to elongate, green or light green or blue-green 5-30 cm high, 20-60 mm wide, unbranched or sparsely branched short-cylindric, and tessellate with roughly pentangular, flat or depressed tubercles closely set together; latex colorless.
Leaves: Persistent, reduced to scales, in spirals or verticillate, sessile (and sunken), strongly adscending, 0.05-0.1 cm long.
Roots: Fibrous.
Flowers: Appear (usually) close to apex of stems in extra-axillary inflorescences 1 to 3 together on a tubercle apex, each about 6 to 10mm, in diameter, simple, sessile, fleshy, abaxially whitish cream, green, yellow to dull pinkish uniformly coloured or maculate with reddish, purple or maroon, adaxially white, cream, green or yellow, maculate, glabrous.
Blooming season: Flowers open synchronously in summer.

This plant has a highly specialized pollination biology, that depends upon flies which are deceived, partially trapped and used as collectors of the pollinia which they transport to a cyathium (Flower) on another plant.
 

Cultivation: Watering Needs:  Water normally in the growing season, dry in the winter.
Summer: In the summer months they will grow well in partial shade.
Propagation: Seeds.
Potting medium:   Since roots are quite shallow, use a cactus mix or add extra perlite or pumice to regular soil potting soil. A gritty, very free-draining compost is suitable, and clay pots help the plants to dry out between watering.

Propagation: Seeds.
 

Photo of conspecific taxa, varieties, forms and cultivars of plants belonging to the Larryleachia cactiforme complex.
 (This Taxon has lots of synonyms whit several controversial varieties and subspecies):

• Larryleachia cactiforme
• Larryleachia cactiforme forma cristata
• Larrileachia picta (= cactiforme)

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Scientific name:  Larryleachia cactiforme (Hooker) N.E. Br.

Origin: South Africa and Namibia

Habitat and biology:  It can be found on the eastern edge of the winter rainfall region at an altitude of  800 - 1600 m. They are highly succulent and adapted to very harsh and bright habitats. Larryleachia is a very fine example of convergent evolution, very easy to mistake for a cactus. However the very similar development of very similar characters in plants evolving in similar conditions although separated by very great distances or otherwise impossible contact.
 

• Stapelia cactiformis
• Trichocaulon cactiforme
• Trichocaulon meloforme Marloth
  Published in: Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Afr 2. 239., 1912
• Larryleachia meloformis (Marloth) Plowes
• Lavrania picta (N.E.Br.) Bruyns subsp. picta
• Leachia meloformis (Marloth) Plowes 1992 (incorrect name)
• Leachia picta (N.E.Br.) Plowes
• Leachiella meloformis (Marloth) Plowes
• Leachiella picta (N.E.Br.) Plowes
• Trichocaulon engleri Dinter
• Trichocaulon pictum N.E. Brown 1909
• Trichocaulon simile auct. - sensu Marloth
• Hoodia meloformis (Marl.) Halda 1998.a

NOTE: Larryleachia cactiformis includes the former Trichocaulon meloformis and Trichocaulon engleri .

The genus Larryleachia was erected by Plowes in honour of Leslie Leach, an English-born electrical engineer, self-taught botanist, and specialist in Asclepiads and Euphorbias. This plant is perhaps best known as one of the smooth-stemmed members of Trichocaulon, the spiny stemmed species were combined with Hoodia, leaving the former in need of a new generic home. The new genus Leachia was rendered invalid as it had already been applied to a genus in the Asteraceae. Realizing his error, Plowes chose a new name Leachiella. Despite having checked as to the availability of that name no one realized until after publication that it had been used before for a genus of red algae. In 1997 it was finally designated as Larryleachia picta along with several other smooth-stemmed species of the former Trichocaulon genus, now the preferred designation among botanists today.

All the information and photos in cactus art files are now available also in the new the Encyclopaedia of Succulents. We hope you find this new site informative and useful.