Mestoklema tuberosum

Japanese name: メストクレマ ツベロスム
Scientific name: Mestoklema tuberosum

[Overview]
An evergreen succulent 30–70 cm tall.
It branches and has a tuber that swells considerably.
The tuber has a reddish brown skin; in young plants it is buried in the ground, but as the plant grows it lifts the plant body and emerges large above the ground surface like a tree trunk.
The leaves are opposite, 1–1.5 cm long and 0.1–0.2 cm wide, fleshy, and rounded-triangular in cross section.
The leaf surface has fine projections.
It bears yellow to orange flowers 0.4–0.6 cm across.

[Cultivation]
Propagate by cuttings.
If water is withheld in winter, it tolerates temperatures down to about 0°C, but frost damages the plant, so it is better to bring it indoors to a sunny place.
It prefers a sunny, well-ventilated, well-drained soil, and soil for succulents is suitable.
Take care to avoid excess moisture; in spring and autumn, water thoroughly once the soil has dried, and withhold water in summer and winter when growth stops.
Fertilizer is not particularly necessary.
Scale insects can occur.

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