Delosperma echinatum

Delosperma echinatum is a small shrubby succulent from the Eastern Cape of South Africa, where it grows in open patches of valley bushveld scrub between Addo and Gqeberha, at 150–860 m. Its plump, bright green leaves — up to 2.5 cm long and borne in pairs — are covered in glistening bladder cells, each tipped with a soft white bristle, which gives them the look of tiny gherkins. The slender stems grow upright at first and then lean or trail, usually staying under 30 cm in a pot. In spring and summer it opens small, daisy-like flowers, white to pale yellow and up to 2 cm across, at the stem tips. It does best in an open terrarium in full sun with gritty soil that dries between waterings; it handles dry room air well but suffers in the humidity of a closed vessel.