When I first learned of the Madagascar Spiny Forest garden at the Los Angeles Arboretum, I knew I had to visit. I have arbitrarily split the Madagascar Spiny Forest at the Los Angeles County Arboretum into two portions, roughly larger and smaller plants. This installation is a must for anyone planning to visit Madagascar or for those obsessed with succulents. This part is devoted to the famous Alluaudia and other trees of Madagascar. The Didiereaceae comprise 11 species divided into 4 genera, of which the largest is Alluaudia (six species). Alluaudia has been subdivided into the 2 sections Alluaudia and Androyella. In this way, Alluaudia procera has two sisters, Alluaudia ascendens and Alluaudia montagnacii. I have decided to do fairly major posts on this garden due to my recent visit to Madagascar. I hope this fills in the gaps on my plant coverage from there. In addition to this outdoor garden at the Arboretum (the only one on the West Coast), other collections of Madagascar’s unique plants that can be seen in the United States include: the Lin Lougheed Spiny Forest of Madagascar at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, Coral Gables, Florida; a collection of spiny forest plants in Koko Crater Botanical Garden, a satellite site of the Honolulu Botanical Gardens, Oahu, Hawaii; an indoor collection at Atlanta Botanical Gardens, Atlanta, Georgia; and the indoor Spiny Desert of Madagascar at Cleveland Botanical Garden, Cleveland, Ohio.
[Read more…]
Succulent and Cactus Gardens of the Relais de la Reine in Madagascar

Madagascar Palm (Pachypodium lamerei) with Octopus Tree (Didierea madagascariensis), Aloe and Christ Thorn. Relais de la Reine Lodge, Madagascar
The garden at Relais de la Reine is concentrated on succulents and cactus and is one of the more remarkable collections I have seen. They have a collection of the Malagasy succulents Didierea and Alluauda from the famous “Spiny Forest”, a beautiful collection of indigenous Aloe and Kalanchoe, a collection of rare and unusual euphorbia from the Americas and Africa and an equally amazing collection of unusual cactus with the very rare Brasiliopuntia cactus. You will be forgiven if all these names just went over your head, this post will focus on pictures of these unusual plants with a minimal description. Even if you don’t know their names, these plants are something you will not want to miss. The Spiny Forest in the south of Madagascar is a world of spiky octopus trees and swollen baobabs, and almost all its species exist only in Madagascar.
[Read more…]