Orbeanthus is a genus of Stapeliad found in the Northern and Mpumalanga Provinces of South Africa and sometimes included in the genus Orbea. There are just two species, Orbeanthus conjunctus and Orbeanthus hardyi. Both possess beautiful long thin blue stems mottled in a very dark purple. O. conjunctus has a rather uninteresting cream colored flower with a red center, O. hardyi on the other hand has a yellow or tan and red flower with patterning reminiscent of Edithcolea grandis.
     Orbeanthus are somewhat rot prone and should be grown in a well draining mix and watered carefully. They can be propagated by seeds and stem cuttings. Cuttings should only be taken when temperatures are consistently above 80 degrees.
     I got these cuttings from Shoal Creek succulents last fall. For some reason growth has been painfully slow. Even the flower bud depicted below fizzled and died. Maybe when it cools down in the fall growth will pick up. I really want to see it flower.

     Update October, 2006. Two new buds have formed and it looks like they might make it. The plant is in the greenhouse now and hopefully the light and warmth will make the difference. This is going to be a good size flower, the bud itself is almost an inch across. Ok, it finally opened on October 24th!

A closeup of the beautifully colored stem	Flower bud closeup	Latest flower buds	Finally, the flower
A closer view	A look inside