Trichocaulon
(from thrix, trichos, a hair, and caulon, a stem; alluding to the bristles that tip each tubercle). ORD. Asclepiadeae. A small genus (two species) of dwarf-growing succulents, natives of South Africa. Flowers small, proceeding from the angles near the upper part of the stem, sub-solitary; calyx five-partite, the segments acuminate; corolla deeply five-lobed; outer corona deeply bilobed. Leaves none. Stems dwarf, stout, fleshy, many-angled; angles tuberculate; tubercles tipped with a bristle. For culture, see Stapelia.
T. piliferum (bristle-bearing). fl. 1/2in. to 2/3in. in diameter, sessile in the furrows of the stem; corolla between funnel and bell-shape, pale yellow-red without, dark purple within. Branches tufted, straight, cylindric, simple, erect, proceeding from a short, stout rootstock. 1882. (B. M. 6759.) SYNS. Piaranthus piliferus, Stapelia pilifera.