new addition to my adenium family, the big daddy of all adeniums. ..Adenium Socotranum shes 3 years old....found in the islands of Socatran, Yemen...Extremely Rare...
in the wild, Adenium socotranum, a succulent of surreal beauty, is found only on the island of Socotra in the Indian Ocean, east of the Horn of Africa and south of the Arabian Peninsula. It grows from 10 to 16 feet tall with a bottle-shaped trunk up to 8 feet wide.
Description
The swollen base of Adenium socotranum makes it look like a miniature baobab, or bottle tree, species of the genus Adansonia found in Africa and Australia. Unlike other species in the Adenium genus, it has vertical grooves on its bark. It grows a few short, thin, twiggy branches with smooth, dark green leaves that are widest near the tip. The leaves are about 4 3/4 inches long with light veins and white midribs. Adenium socotranum's seeds are roughly 2/3 to 3/4 inch long. It also yields 4- to 5-inch-wide pink flowers, but those are rarely seen on trees growing in cultivation.
Habitat and Growth
Found naturally growing in grit and rocks, Adenium socotranum is adapted a dry climate and has to put up with high monsoon winds that occasionally strike Socotra. Bluish-gray wax on its surface reflects the sun, and a special sap circulating in its fat trunk prevents overheating. Its stem only grows for a few weeks in the spring, and its pink flowers, equally short-lived, grow while the plant is leafless. The leaves appear before the middle of summer.
Availability and Names
Domestically cultivated examples of Adenium socotranum are rare. This is partly because the Soviet Union used Socotra for a naval base for years and banned visitors, so seeds and plants were not available. More recently, Socotra authorities have banned the collection of plant material from the island. You may find it listed as Adenium obesum ssp. socotranum, suggesting that it is a subspecies of Adenium obesum, but most authorities list it as Adenium socotranum, a separate species. You may also encounter nurseries selling Thai Adenium socotranum, a smaller succulent that is actually a cultivar of Adenium arabicum. Thai Adenium socotranum is not a tree.
Cultivation
Adenium socotranum trees are typically propagated by seeds that are expensive because they must come from a rare specimen growing in cultivation. If you can get one, you can also root a cutting of a stem or branch in a mix of sand and peat. To reduce rot, wait two to three days before you plant the cutting. Adenium socotranum needs lots of sun but little water. Adenium species do not like frost or cool, wet winters. The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum reports that the tree is so rarely found away from the island of Socotra that it’s impossible to describe its performance in cultivation with confidence.
