Dorstenia Gigas

Dorstenia gigas is endemic to Socotra Island in the Arabian Sea and is one of the island's most iconic plants. True to its name (gigas = giant), it grows into a massive bottle tree form in habitat, with trunk diameters exceeding 1 meter in old specimens. The pale ivory to gray-white trunk is smooth and the plant branches at the top to support foliage. Flowers are the characteristic flat hypocrateriforms of the genus, and seeds are forcibly ejected. Growth is extremely slow and large specimens are the ultimate rarities. Full sun and extremely porous soil are essential. Restrained watering during growth and complete winter drought with indoor protection from cold are required. Protected under CITES due to Socotra's fragile endemic ecosystem, legal specimens are extraordinarily difficult to obtain, placing it among the most aspirational caudex plants imaginable.

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