Goldleaf Succulent

This small leaf succulent grows up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) tall. The sickle shaped stem is yellow-green, and is covered in large amounts of flexible gold spines. The pointed leaves are either black, or gold with cyan edges. Very large amounts of them grow on slender, burgundy branches that are very short and slender. The leaves are rigid, but easily come away when pulled.

It is steady-growing, taking 11 months to reach maturity. Once mature, and only under the right conditions, several flowers with petals that are generally red; each flower tends to be a variation of this colour grow at the top, reappearing after 8 years, but only when the conditions are right again. The flower head is shaped like a bowl with 26 tightly layered, narrow petals. It has a fairly strong scent that smells like leather.

The leaf succulent's skin is thick, the lilac flesh is smooth, and the peach sap is thin.