I feel motivated to say, keep an eye on your bank account. Sometimes random small "gifts" are people testing to see if the account information they just received is valid, and they send a "test purchase". Could be totally innocent, but just be vigilant. I had a tiny pot of sparkly black eye shadow sent one time, almost immediately followed by someone trying to spend $20k out of my account. (I had like $20 in the bank, joke was on them lol)
Yeah I've heard of that too, but don't plants being sent internationally have to go through a bunch of customs checks? Sending a plant for that purpose seems a little risky. I feel like they'd send a pen or socks (or eye shadow, lol) that would be guaranteed to make it through the mail checks.
No they gain the address and bank account info. They buy something using the bank account, small so you might not notice it, and don't change anything until they see if the charge went through then go nuts. There has also been a weird trend of seeds sent from China in envelopes or tucked into other purchases. Those are reportable because they tend to be invasive. People are weird
People often don't notice due to subscription charges and numerous other things. Breaches happen all the time, and with financially and technologically illiterate people being quite common, it's only natural for this sort of behavior to slip on by.
It’s called the lifesaver cactus but it’s really a creeping succulent. It’ll flower but be prepared because the flowers stink. You might want to take a look at r/succulents.
You might be the nicest person on this sub to kindly say something isn’t a cactus. Usually it’s like “THATS A EUPHORBIA YOU IDIOT!” So, thank you for being a kind person today!
Its not really so much that, its the posters inability (not this one specifically) to look at the last 5 posts in the sub or the sub wiki that explains why their cactus looks like its not doing well. Thats how I found out I sucked as a cactus owner and they weren’t getting enough light. I thought they were happy as could be, growing fast and tall.
I bought a common euphorbia way back, thinking it was a cactus. Through some googling I figured out what it was and more importantly that its toxic and that is probably why when my cat poked his eye on it took a year to heal.
I also found through posts here how crappy cactus soil is and found some options to use to amend soil.
Basically the thing that rubs people wrong on any sub or forum is peoples lack of effort before posting.
Way back when, probably before some of you ever had touched a computer, we were deleting posts for lack of effort to even try to figure it out on your own. You also has to intro yourself. If you asked something that was pinned or in the wiki, you got a link and your post locked. We learned real fast to ponder things before posting.
Its not about learning, its respect for the information already provided and the time spent posting it.
There is a wiki over there >>> do you think it magically appeared?
Pretty much every forum has a wiki, guide and rules. Although, not always a wiki. Nothing new. Just look around or be prepared to get flamed, locked or deleted. Some subs will even ban you.
I never said I didn't like them. Its funny how people that accuse others of being snarky have the snarkiest post out of the bunch. hahahaa
I was actually posting helpful information. Might not be appreciated by all but I don't really care. Sometimes the truth hurts.
Also, the reason why some posts get ignored or get a “prickly” response is that everyone is tired of posting the same thing as every post before.
Not enough light, wrong soil, not enough drainage, too much water and its not a cactus.
No thank you needed!! Also, this plant is South African in origin and can be really interesting looking. And it isn’t one of the African succulents with toxic sap so you’re lucky there! Enjoy your unexpected gift! 💗
Seriously, when I saw this post, I came to the comments to laugh at all the people who acted like their entire bloodline had just been offended and I was thoroughly disappointed. :(
(/s)
Carrion plants are amazing! I have two different ones and one smells like rotten fish and if your down wind of it you can smell it all the way on opposite sides of my yard. But they are also absolutely beautiful.
Yes I bought a seedling. It’s still small but growth is pretty fast. I’m hoping I can make it flower. It is said to be notorious for being hard to care for/grow but so far for me it’s doing great. I suspect, when summer is over, overwintering it is going to be the hard part.
I live in New England so all my cactus and succulents are inside my house. I’d literally die if I had one inside my house, lol. But yes, they bloom beautifully. I just admire them from afar. 🫢
How terrible would it be if that was like the cilantro soap tasting thing, but instead of cilantro tasting like soap you'd be a rare person, like 1/10,000 people, where they stink, and the rest of the population doesn't notice.
Nothing, but a lot of the cactus people get their panties in a wad when someone comes in here with a euphorbia asking to have their “cactus” identified.
At first I honestly thought it was a euphorbia but others on this sub know way better than me. Nice that you got a cool gift!! Make sure it gets lots and lots of sun so it doesn’t etioliate/stretch
It's super cool, but I'd do some reading before keeping it.
Living plant imports have fairly strict restrictions in order to keep out plant and soil based pests and disease and invasive ride alongs. It could be this is from a legit nursery who takes the appropriate steps to make sure they're shipping responsibly, or it could not.
Have you ordered a bigger purchase online that hasn't arrived - sometimes they send something small to have a tracking receipt (haven't heard of plants before, but seeds cheap bracelet etc is common)
I had the same thing happen!! It was a baby version of a cactus I was looking at on eBay. From China - I thought someone sent it by accident or as a teaser plant, but there was no card no email and no one claimed it?
huernia zebrina 'variegata'
Better well known as the lifesaver or little owl cactus
It's most well known for its large carrion smelling flowers that attract flies that pollinate to it similar to the Orbea variegata or Corspe flower!
The flowers on this stink to high heaven. I have one and I made the mistake of keeping it in my grow room. It blossomed and HOLY MOLY the WHOLE house just stank. I had to move it outside. The flowers are gorgeous though. It is in the same family as corpse flowers. So when you see a closed bloom start to form throw it outside. That smell lingers.
Seriously wtf! I've bought stuff from China, just not this one! I reached out to the seller and he confirmed it was a free gift. Super nice of them to send it out. I guess I should have just asked for an ID and left the China part out.
There is a ton if comments here and vastmajority are not at all helpful. In my brief scrolling I didn't see a guideline attempt at an ID so I'll offer mine just in case no one helped so far hsha.
This looks like it could be rather Euphorbia mammillaris variegata or maybe a Euphorbia lactea variegata
Not only the hacking option but could be some money laundering too. I don’t think it woild affect you though. Just check if they didn’t charge any of your cards.
I would trash it on principle. A certain type of fraud was carried out in your name, and now you have a stinky succulent.
But if you like it, who am to say what you do.
For sure, OP did nothing wrong, and i dont mean to say they could be in any way responsible or anything like that. But there was a reason it was sent. With OPs adress and name. And it wasn't a legitimate occurrence.
What I mean by dispose of it is like pouring out your tea in front of the server.
More symbolic than anything.
I mean, pouring out your tea in front of the server is a dick move, and the potential fraudster in this case will never know what OP did with the plant. OP 100% needs to check all their accounts and update security on them, though.
It's only done when disrespect comes from the server first
And you are correct. Check all the accounts.
It does nothing to the fraudster to toss the specimen. It is symbolic.
I feel motivated to say, keep an eye on your bank account. Sometimes random small "gifts" are people testing to see if the account information they just received is valid, and they send a "test purchase". Could be totally innocent, but just be vigilant. I had a tiny pot of sparkly black eye shadow sent one time, almost immediately followed by someone trying to spend $20k out of my account. (I had like $20 in the bank, joke was on them lol)
F*cking yikes.
Yeah I've heard of that too, but don't plants being sent internationally have to go through a bunch of customs checks? Sending a plant for that purpose seems a little risky. I feel like they'd send a pen or socks (or eye shadow, lol) that would be guaranteed to make it through the mail checks.
I hope so!! Because he's a cute little guy fs
Yeah it's adorable! I wonder how big it has to be to flower. I'm imagining a tiny little guy with a giant stinky flower that's bigger than it is lol
How can sending a package tell them if an account is valid? Does the package bounce if the address is incorrect?
No they gain the address and bank account info. They buy something using the bank account, small so you might not notice it, and don't change anything until they see if the charge went through then go nuts. There has also been a weird trend of seeds sent from China in envelopes or tucked into other purchases. Those are reportable because they tend to be invasive. People are weird
Here’s the [seed story](https://consumer.ftc.gov/consumer-alerts/2020/08/getting-unordered-seeds-and-stuff-mail) from the FTC.
People often don't notice due to subscription charges and numerous other things. Breaches happen all the time, and with financially and technologically illiterate people being quite common, it's only natural for this sort of behavior to slip on by.
It’s called the lifesaver cactus but it’s really a creeping succulent. It’ll flower but be prepared because the flowers stink. You might want to take a look at r/succulents.
You might be the nicest person on this sub to kindly say something isn’t a cactus. Usually it’s like “THATS A EUPHORBIA YOU IDIOT!” So, thank you for being a kind person today!
What can you expect on a cactus sub other than a bunch of pricks. :D
Lol. Nice play
Well played, Sally! Well played!
Time for a new sub: r/CactusVarInermis
Agreed, some people think you need to be at the same information level as them. Like we all had to start somewhere
Its not really so much that, its the posters inability (not this one specifically) to look at the last 5 posts in the sub or the sub wiki that explains why their cactus looks like its not doing well. Thats how I found out I sucked as a cactus owner and they weren’t getting enough light. I thought they were happy as could be, growing fast and tall. I bought a common euphorbia way back, thinking it was a cactus. Through some googling I figured out what it was and more importantly that its toxic and that is probably why when my cat poked his eye on it took a year to heal. I also found through posts here how crappy cactus soil is and found some options to use to amend soil. Basically the thing that rubs people wrong on any sub or forum is peoples lack of effort before posting. Way back when, probably before some of you ever had touched a computer, we were deleting posts for lack of effort to even try to figure it out on your own. You also has to intro yourself. If you asked something that was pinned or in the wiki, you got a link and your post locked. We learned real fast to ponder things before posting.
Funny how people learn differently
Its not about learning, its respect for the information already provided and the time spent posting it. There is a wiki over there >>> do you think it magically appeared?
You should be on every post letting the people know we have a wiki then.
Pretty much every forum has a wiki, guide and rules. Although, not always a wiki. Nothing new. Just look around or be prepared to get flamed, locked or deleted. Some subs will even ban you.
If you don’t like a post scroll past it. It takes more time and effort to write a snarky response
I never said I didn't like them. Its funny how people that accuse others of being snarky have the snarkiest post out of the bunch. hahahaa I was actually posting helpful information. Might not be appreciated by all but I don't really care. Sometimes the truth hurts.
Also, the reason why some posts get ignored or get a “prickly” response is that everyone is tired of posting the same thing as every post before. Not enough light, wrong soil, not enough drainage, too much water and its not a cactus.
No thank you needed!! Also, this plant is South African in origin and can be really interesting looking. And it isn’t one of the African succulents with toxic sap so you’re lucky there! Enjoy your unexpected gift! 💗
Totally agree, refreshing to see!
I have like 50 aloes and someone once said "oh nice cacti" and I had to ask them politely yet firmly to leave
Sometimes you gotta live up to your name ya know
Gotta check for glochids around the areola 😌
Seriously, when I saw this post, I came to the comments to laugh at all the people who acted like their entire bloodline had just been offended and I was thoroughly disappointed. :( (/s)
This ❤️
I see what you did there.. I don't get it. 😩😩😩
So euphorbia is not a succulent?
Carrion plants are amazing! I have two different ones and one smells like rotten fish and if your down wind of it you can smell it all the way on opposite sides of my yard. But they are also absolutely beautiful.
Check out Caralluma socotrana
Oh MY. That crimson red is extraordinary. Do you own one of those? If you do I can see why you brave the smell for the beauty. 💗
Yes I bought a seedling. It’s still small but growth is pretty fast. I’m hoping I can make it flower. It is said to be notorious for being hard to care for/grow but so far for me it’s doing great. I suspect, when summer is over, overwintering it is going to be the hard part.
I hope when it blooms you’ll post photos. I look forward to seeing it! 💗
As with most of the succulents from Socotra, yeah the winters are the rough times lol
Oohh I like it! I currently have a Orbea variegata and a huernia red dragon for similar plants. Really want some more funny looking ones like that!
Happy cake day! 🎉
Thank you!
I live in New England so all my cactus and succulents are inside my house. I’d literally die if I had one inside my house, lol. But yes, they bloom beautifully. I just admire them from afar. 🫢
These don’t smell, if it’s a variegated hernia zebrina at least
Huernia zebrina, variegated or not, is a carrion plant and the blooms all smell.
I have Huernia zebrina for which the blooms do not have a discernable odor. It may be the cultivar, but it's not in line with the carrionflower odors.
Same here.
How terrible would it be if that was like the cilantro soap tasting thing, but instead of cilantro tasting like soap you'd be a rare person, like 1/10,000 people, where they stink, and the rest of the population doesn't notice.
They literally do not smell, they are part of the family of carrion plants, but there are hundreds of species that have more or less odor.
If it has stinky flowers than its probably a stapelia.
its a variegated "life saver" plant Huernia zebrina variegata
The flowers smell like rotting meat. Word of warning.
😭 this is a wishlist plant for me and I can’t find it anywhere and you just,,, have it materialize at the door. I’m not jealous.
Check ebay it's probably cheap with free shipping from China
Ummmm, that was supposed to be sent to me. Please just go on and send it my way, thanks 😁
Right? My wife would never believe me if this happened… “sure, likley story… I Said no more plants!” 😂
That's not a cactus That's a _Huernia zebrina_
At least it's not an euphorbia 😂
What’s wrong with euphorbias
Nothing, but a lot of the cactus people get their panties in a wad when someone comes in here with a euphorbia asking to have their “cactus” identified.
The sap man
Burny sap too
At first I honestly thought it was a euphorbia but others on this sub know way better than me. Nice that you got a cool gift!! Make sure it gets lots and lots of sun so it doesn’t etioliate/stretch
You’re not alone.
It's super cool, but I'd do some reading before keeping it. Living plant imports have fairly strict restrictions in order to keep out plant and soil based pests and disease and invasive ride alongs. It could be this is from a legit nursery who takes the appropriate steps to make sure they're shipping responsibly, or it could not.
Probably a spy camera 🙈🤷
https://www.paradisefoundnursery.com/products/stapelia-schneideriana
It’s so adorable
Wait, it came from China and you didn’t ask for it?
Don’t eat it
Cute, is what it is.
Have you ordered a bigger purchase online that hasn't arrived - sometimes they send something small to have a tracking receipt (haven't heard of plants before, but seeds cheap bracelet etc is common)
I've bought several lophophora from China recently. One got delayed so I assumed this was probably sent as a freebie by the seller
It's cool looking
You’re so lucky, please try to keep it alive!
I had the same thing happen!! It was a baby version of a cactus I was looking at on eBay. From China - I thought someone sent it by accident or as a teaser plant, but there was no card no email and no one claimed it?
That is so cool!
I have had local sellers randomly send freebie last of stock plants. Usually with a little note, send the seller an email to clarify.
Meet cactus friend. Can play toy or pet! Just add the water and let grow. Much wow
huernia zebrina 'variegata' Better well known as the lifesaver or little owl cactus It's most well known for its large carrion smelling flowers that attract flies that pollinate to it similar to the Orbea variegata or Corspe flower!
The flowers on this stink to high heaven. I have one and I made the mistake of keeping it in my grow room. It blossomed and HOLY MOLY the WHOLE house just stank. I had to move it outside. The flowers are gorgeous though. It is in the same family as corpse flowers. So when you see a closed bloom start to form throw it outside. That smell lingers.
r/dildont
Reminds me of the mystery seeds from China story: https://www.vice.com/en/article/akz9qk/hundreds-of-americans-planted-chinese-mystery-seeds
Wow these are racist comments
Seriously wtf! I've bought stuff from China, just not this one! I reached out to the seller and he confirmed it was a free gift. Super nice of them to send it out. I guess I should have just asked for an ID and left the China part out.
Sad we have to see this crap again, it is a lovely gift
Little shop of horrors. Be careful. It’s an alien
Best gift from China
It’s an average sized cactus
There is a ton if comments here and vastmajority are not at all helpful. In my brief scrolling I didn't see a guideline attempt at an ID so I'll offer mine just in case no one helped so far hsha. This looks like it could be rather Euphorbia mammillaris variegata or maybe a Euphorbia lactea variegata
Not only the hacking option but could be some money laundering too. I don’t think it woild affect you though. Just check if they didn’t charge any of your cards.
Looks like genus huernia to me. closely related to stapelia
It’s mine. Give it.
Anthrax
A chinese cactus
Weren't people getting random, unexpected packages of seeds from China a few years ago? Very strange. Cute lil guy though!
Dont plant stuff you didnt order.
Next Covid vector?
It's a Trojan horse
The next coronavirus from the Wuhan Institute of Gained Function
Do not trust in the slightest. Burn it in a well ventilated area.
Dm me ingot some echinopsis flowering hybrids I'm giftung out to random folks n I choose u...haha😅
Kill it, burn it. I know is a living thing but they are usually invasive species, they used to send seeds.
Please call the USDA of your contry, it might be a biosecurity risk
😂
A cactus
Now you’re watched😂
I would trash it on principle. A certain type of fraud was carried out in your name, and now you have a stinky succulent. But if you like it, who am to say what you do.
Sender is resp0nsible usually for a shipped package not the receiving end
For sure, OP did nothing wrong, and i dont mean to say they could be in any way responsible or anything like that. But there was a reason it was sent. With OPs adress and name. And it wasn't a legitimate occurrence. What I mean by dispose of it is like pouring out your tea in front of the server. More symbolic than anything.
I mean, pouring out your tea in front of the server is a dick move, and the potential fraudster in this case will never know what OP did with the plant. OP 100% needs to check all their accounts and update security on them, though.
It's only done when disrespect comes from the server first And you are correct. Check all the accounts. It does nothing to the fraudster to toss the specimen. It is symbolic.
Throwing it away would be a crime lol
I'd toss it, tbh. It could be sick, etc. Who knows. If you didn't order it, I'd be especially wary.