The sap from this one is really dark compared to my other Adenium plant. Is this normal? You can see it on its cortex as per my pic.

I see the brown sap above. I sometimes see dried brown sap but not so much on new sap.

I am tagging our Adenium subject matter experts @deepsouth and @kaktus. Hoping they can give us insight on what would cause it to have brown sap.

Yes and No ....something took a bite out of the plant, or broke or twisted a stem or leaf (that part is not normal because adenium sap is very bitter)

adenium sap is crystal clear, a clear liquid, as it comes from the plant ...within a few hours, the sap turns from a clear liquid ...to a light amber brown ...dries and hardens .....sap left on iron cutting tools will dry black (like a shellac or varnish)

Thanks James! That explains why my hubby's cutting tools that I used are turning brown or black I didn't know I was causing them. Now I know .

It literally came out dark or within minutes at least when I noticed. This has darker leaves than my other one whose sap is clear. Interesting, I'll keep an eye on it. Thanks guys.

GigiAdeniumPlumeria said: Thanks James! That explains why my hubby's cutting tools that I used are turning brown or black I didn't know I was causing them. Now I know .

dry adenium sap is hard to get off too ...wear gloves, use a 80 or 100 grit emery cloth, aggressively rub in one direction, until sap is removed

Thanks James! Will pass that along to hubby, how to clean the tools I used for the Adeniums pruning.

@natasha10293 I sent you 5 so you can get an Adenium badge.

Oh thank you. I just need to figure out how to get it (the badge). Still a little slow around this site.

You are !

I am not sure either, normal sap from adeniums will be clear / white. But once in a while I see those brownish sap came out from wounded adeniums, maybe it is part of the way adeniums try to heal themselves from any open wound.

We are just a small group in Adenium forum but truly addicted to this beautiful desert roses. If you can buy desert roses seeds in your area you can easily grow them under grow lights even winter time.
Here is another forum you can visit.
The thread "Chats about Adeniums 2024" in Adeniums forum

Oddly one of the four that I cut back yesterday had that black color and it was really odd. It also seemed to ooze a LOT more then the other 3, I had to go back and use alcohol to remove the black that dripped down the main stem. There are near black marks on the paper towel I wiped the blade down with, I was laying each cutting on them and labeling them so I could keep track of which was from which plant. I will try and root these this time but I'll make a note which one had the black and see if there's any difference later on.

Yes, like mine, it's only a very very small plant but a substantial amount came out and all simply when I took a yellowing leaf off!! I thought maybe because of the dark colour it's simply more noticeable but I paid particular notice doing the exact same thing to my larger desert rose and I'm pretty certain barely any leaked out. Also wondered if it had anything to do with dormancy or not.

I don't think dormancy has anything to do with it. The 4 that I cut were seedlings started in October that are still actively growing (like teenagers) and not dormant at all under lights and frequent watering.