DYCKIA brevifolia

Unusual evergreen perennial plant, with a cushion-like habit and rapid growth, native to South America: its height when ripe does not exceed 30 cm, while its width can also be around 50-60 cm. It looks like a colony of plants of different sizes depending on the stage of development, each composed of numerous fleshy and lanceolate leaves, of a beautiful bright green, with thorny edges and apex and a rosette arrangement. in summer, thin and short stems are raised, crowned by loose spikes of minute tubular yellow flowers, which are easily followed by capsules full of very light seeds.

Although not a succulent strictly speaking, it can cope with periods of prolonged drought well tolerates the proximity of the sea with its brackish winds: it generally prefers sunny positions, but also half-shade in very hot places in summer, and grows better in a soil that tends to be poor and well drained. Instead, it is necessary to guarantee a sheltered position, or provide protection or even better shelter in a cool and bright environment, in those regions characterized by intense cold and protracted in winter. Ideal in containers and pots even of modest size on terraces and balconies, in the open ground it is perfect in the pockets of rocks or associated with cacti and succulents with which it does not share the phylogeny, but the posture, managing to create angles of garden with an exotic flavor.