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Welcome to the wonderful and weird world of succulents! These ornamental plants come in some very surprising shapes that make them look like something from a fantasy illustrator’s dreams. Bored Panda’s green thumb employees have delicately grown and cultivated this list about some of the most awesome succulents you’ll ever see. So scroll down, upvote your faves, and share this post with your plant-loving pals.
If you keep any succulent-buddies at home or at work, we’d love to see photos of them in the comment section below, dear Pandas. We’d also appreciate it if you could share any tips for growing them. You know, for those of us who give our succulents a bit too much love, attention, and water.
Succulents are excellent at surviving in dry climates and nearly all cacti are succulents but not all succulents are cacti. Succulents are very popular plants. Odds are that if you stroll through any office, you’ll spot at least one of them. Unfortunately, not everyone knows how to take care of their succulents—I can tell you from firsthand experience that it’s a lot harder than it should be!
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#1
Clear Succulent Plant
Dynein 5 years ago
There's a few plants that have these kind of "widnows" on top of their leaves (google "leaf window"). They are adapted to very harsh, hot climates. The windows allow them to remain mostly buried in the soil and keep the photosynthesizing part of the leaf protected from the harsh conditions while still being able to collect light.
CodingGirl04 5 years ago
These are called Haworthias to whoever was wondering, they are clear due to the amount of water they hold, and are quite stunning as you can see.
Christy Smith 5 years ago
I want to squish one so bad, would water fly everywhere? I’m also fascinated with how pretty they are.
Aykut Bilici 5 years ago
First pic looks different, like cooperi var. truncata
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Vee Ng 5 years ago
Please remove my images from your article used in promoting other shops. I have not been asked or consented to the use of my images. While I'm ok with people sharing my photos on instagram out of interest, I'm not ok when someone uses my images to profit off of. I have never bought my plants from these shops and find it misleading to potential buyers. @chonkysuccs
Irene Foss 5 years ago
I love Haworthias and have a few. I have a lot of different kinds of succulents but I want more of the Haworthias they come in so may shapes .
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RELATED:
#2
Rose Succulents
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 5 years ago
Wow, they're really beautiful! I never knew this variety of succulent existed despite frequent trips to arboretums and outdoor gardens.
Monika Soffronow 5 years ago
The Rose Succulent is native to the Spanish Canary Islands, which are located off the southernmost coast of Morocco, i.e. they are located in Africa! They are summer dormant meaning that they mainly grow in the winter, rather than the summer.
Annabeth Chase 5 years ago
So beautiful. When I was younger, I wordered if there were any green roses. Now I know there are!
#3
Bunny Succulents
Gale Vester 5 years ago (edited)
Little bunny Foo-foo 🐰 hopping through the forest, picking up the field mice 🐭 and bopping them on the head!
Christina Gagne 5 years ago
OMG! You brought me to middle school summer camp! 🥰
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Some of the fantastically strange plants like the mermaid tail or the opal-like clear succulents look like they’re from another planet and something that aliens keep on their alien desks in their alien offices.
If you want to get one of these peculiar succulents for yourself or for your loved ones as a gift, the mermaid one is called a crested Senecio Vitalis while the clear one is the Haworthia Cooperi plant.
Haworthia succulents are popular because of their “leaf windows” which let in a lot of light for the plant. The “windows” also minimize water loss from evaporation because the rest of the plant is buried underground. Haworthia plants also have accordion-like roots that pull them deeper into the ground so that they can thrive.
#4
Unusual Succulent
ZombieGirl 5 years ago
Does anyone know what kind this is, or is it really called "unusual succulent"? lol
Joshua Webster 5 years ago
World of Succulents calls it crassula alstonii
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Cristina S. 5 years ago
Me thinks this is a SciFi monster where we’re only seeing the back of the creature. It’s a giant worm with big pointy teeth and this is its back with a cute little tree to attract its prey. The prey (all of us) say, “Ooooh let me touch that cute tree!!” And it rises out of the earth and chomps us. Then it descends back into the ground, leaving the cute tree as bait yet again. (Sorry I’m REALLY bored)
Red Panda 2 years ago
Well, you’re on bored panda so you’re allowed to be 🙃
Load More Replies... Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 5 years ago
I love this one! It looks like a miniature tree growing from a tiny hilltop.
#5
Trachyandra
mermaidgirl960 5 years ago
Heh, I thought it was something moving and spiraling, such an illusion
#6
Albuca
According to Reddit, Haworthia plants are easy to take care of and are great succulents for beginners: just pop them on the windowsill and they’ll be happy. Especially if you plop it into some gritty soil.
In general, succulents need plenty of light and you need to rotate them occasionally so all parts of it can enjoy the sun and to help it grow straight.
Overwatering is a big no-no, so check the soil regularly: if it’s dry, get your watering can ready. Also, keep in mind that succulents need more water during Spring and Summer and barely need any in Fall and Winter when they’re ‘resting.’ Finally, wipe the dust off your succulents to help them grow and become your picture-perfect plant-pals.
#7
Lithops
Troux 5 years ago
They look like brains but also like candy and now I feel a little like a zombie...
Daria B 5 years ago
They also look like recreational drugs from anti-drug pamphlets.
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Nadine 5 years ago
I have a lithops and I love it! It looks like a butt, lol. A few weeks ago, it opened up and a new lithops came out of the old one. So strange. You can see a few going through this same process in the photo.
Gigmeister 5 years ago
My lithops keep dying on me. The look happy and then just collapse. These guys are not easy to grow!
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CodingGirl04 5 years ago
They are supposed to look like rocks for protection, but are very beautiful and strange plants
#8
Echeveria
Dana Camilo 3 years ago
The variegated ones ( like this one ) are more wild looking. That white/yellow parts of the petals can actually turn purple , pink etc. In the cooler weather. Very cool looking!
Duy Linh Tran 4 years ago
Thanks for your useful tips. You can find the organically grown succulents and see more about succulent care tips here https://succulentsbox.com/
#9
Conophytum Bilobum
#10
Succulent
Venetia Featherstone-Witty 5 years ago
Thank you for the info. I have been looking for the name of this for ages!!
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Kika González 5 years ago
Why don't they write the names of what they actually are so we can look them up
Jill Long 5 years ago
It's an Echeveria, not sure of the exact variety. This photo also looks a little shopped...
Letty Franklin 5 years ago
It's not photos shopped I have one just like it mine is blooming right now
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#11
Euphorbia
Loki’s Lil Butter Knife 5 years ago
I honestly thought this was a beaded pincushion upon first glance. I had to Google it, and supposedly it is called "euphorbia obesa" and it does indeed look like the photo above. Pretty amazing!
Katherine White 5 years ago
I was just thinking that my mom would love this...she's a quilter. LOL
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Troux 5 years ago (edited)
A little misleading: The succulents are on top, and the'bulb' is a fabric decoration. Unless this succulent just has a loose thread on the right side.... It's a beautiful sewn bulb though!
Dynein 5 years ago
No, it's not. I own such a plant (baseball euphorbia). The bulb is the stem of the plant, what looks like "stitches" is the scars left from the old flowers (the "loose thread" is probably just a weird mark, or possible a bit of dust). The bits on the top are the current flowers. Under right conditions - with enough light and warmth - the plant continuously develops new flowers as it grows, which then fall off.
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#12
Aztekium
#13
Kalanchoe
Gale Vester 5 years ago
My upvote is for your sharing this important bit of knowledge, by the way!
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Perfumista Perfumista 5 years ago
So that's what I'm supposed to do with my discarded mango peels
Eagle Girl 5 years ago
Wow! Only knew of Kalanchoe with flowers. Thank you Google, this one is 'Flapjacks'
#14
Stapelia
Suzi Orozco-Neu 5 years ago
I have a different type of staphelia with red flowers that aren't as hairy. Flowers smell like rotting meat to attract flies to pollinate it.
Charlotte 5 years ago
I think some ancient ancestor had a bad experience with one of these and we're all getting a hind-brain response. *shudder*
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Samantha Lomb 5 years ago
They smell of death though. Known globally as African starfish flowers, and locally as carrion flowers, members of the genus Stapelia are usually characterised by their foul-smelling flowers reminiscent of the odour of rotting meat. The hairs, coloration and surface mimic decaying animal matter and attract mostly flies, which act as pollinators.
#15
Dolphin Succulents
Pan Narrans 5 years ago
And a chowder of cats, a pride of lions, etc. But what only a few people know is how you call a group of witches: an argument.
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Elisabeth Byrne 5 years ago
イルカ iruka means dolphin🐬 in Japanese and みたい mitai means looks like. So the tag on the plant means "it looks like a dolphin" , which it does😍🌿👀🐬
#16
Boophone Haemanthoides
Monika Soffronow 5 years ago
I looked it up and found that this is a geophyte, *???* So I then looked that up: A perennial plant with an underground food storage organ, such as a bulb, tuber, corm, or rhizome.
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Strange Quark 3 years ago
They don't usually grow like this, they have longer leaves. This one has been Bonzai'd to look like this
#17
Unusual Succulent
Kate Tora 5 years ago
Just wanted to mention that the top part is a planter and the bottom is the plant itself. Still cool tho, since they grow upside-down.
Dynein 5 years ago
Yep, these are tilandsias, also known as "air plants". They are related to bromeliads, which all have structures on their leaves that function as a kind of punctual roots; i.e. they can absorb water via their leaves. For bromeliads, these structures are clustered toward the bottom of the leaf, close of the stem. Tilandsias went all the way. What little roots they still develop mostly function for attachment to a surface. Their leaves have what looks like a silvery patina - the water-absorbing structures. They can get their water from moisture in the air (and most of their nutrients from dust) and are therefore great for bathrooms! Though outside of tropical climates they should still be regularly sprayed with distilled water, or bathed in tap water (not sprayed with tap water - the water will evaporate but minerals will build up on the leaves and might kill the plant). I have several hanging by the bathroom window :-)
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Elly Clifton 5 years ago
They are air plants, part of the Bromeliad plant group, not succulents
Emily Foltz 5 years ago
This is not a succulent at all. It’s an air plant glued to a seashell.
Tia G 5 years ago
Those are air plants in a type of sea shells for display that is not a part of those plants.
#18
Mermaid Tail Succulent
mermaidgirl960 5 years ago
Oh, I think I'm going to draw a cool mermaid with a seaweed teal now!
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Elaine Mattingly 5 years ago
Set it behind an ocean picture so I don't feel like she's suffocating.
#19
Pageae
Kimberley Thomas 5 years ago
These two look like the "Little Shop of Horrors" plant kissing itself.
XinYu Choong 5 years ago
mom walked into me looking at this... now she thinks i'm lonely to the point where i'm looking at plants having smooches they getting that lip action
#20
Orbea Variegata (Starfish Plant)
Dynein 5 years ago
Ooh, I have this one too! Cool plant, awesome flowers which are made to resemble rotten flesh from the color and surface structure (Yes, you read that right. It's called a carrion flower). Striking and beautiful, needs a lot of hear and sun. But it's best put in a more airy place where you wont stay long enough to be bothered by the occasional waft of air blowing the smell into your direction... the flowers smell like rotting flesh, too, after a day or two. Thankfully not that strong, you hardly notice from about a meter away, but you definitely don't want to have it close to your couch.
arjelio mas 5 years ago
My Aunt in Deming, New Mexico puts them outside in the summer and lets them fend for themselves. It seems the more she abuses them, the more they flower. They're very interesting plants and she has a few nice ones with a variety of flower colors.
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Robyn Baird 5 years ago
So beautiful yet SO stinky (my neighbour tricked me ... "better than a rose" she said)
Jennifer Gardener 3 years ago
So beautiful. I would love to have this as part of my collection.
Wendy Oberst 3 years ago
I have this one & the first time it bloomed the little bloom starts off looking like a mushroom. I have 2 after I gave my mom & daughter one. I am willing to send one to you if you'd like. sensationalstorm.001@gmail.com
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Strange Quark 3 years ago
Looks like a mix between a gutrot flower and a Hens & Chicks. cool but ewww. They smell like rotten meat
#21
Myrtillocactus Geometrizans Succulent
Leslie Sokolow 5 years ago
This is not the normal look for this species (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Myrtillocactus_geometrizans). It has been manipulated to have this cristate (crested look).
Janine Hunt-Jackson 5 years ago
This reminds me of pictures of storm waters splashing up against a cliff
#22
Gentiana Urnula
Strange Quark 3 years ago
Ill answer your questions: They do grow indoors & outdoors, they're from Tibetan, and they have beautiful flowers, ranging from deep violet to bright white.
#23
Stringofpearls
arjelio mas 5 years ago
If you give a plant the light, temperature, and food it needs, it will always love you. The trick to a green thumb is understanding the customers in your pots.
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NQ L 5 years ago
I love these and tried to grow them many times. My issue is that I kept thinking I needed to water them. I kill all plants
#24
Crassula Umbella
mermaidgirl960 5 years ago
So beautiful! I feel like I've seen these before even though I haven't
#25
Lithops
Lindy Mac 5 years ago
Emily Foltz: thanks for that info... I hope OP will correct the title.
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Aeonium
#27
Klubrostok
Eagle Girl 5 years ago
Really starting to think I've been quarantined too long...the things I'm seeing..
#28
Bowiea Volubulis
Nicole Perlowsky 5 years ago
I did look at the entire photo before 100% concluding... anything Bowie is gonna be cool! I didn't really doubt it tho' :) #should2did
Anna Conole 4 years ago
Had one for years, do not remember what happened to it. Loved it, looking for another to purchase
mermaidgirl960 5 years ago
The name absolutely matches this wonderful, stunning plant! Also, I wonder if the bottom is that big when you plant it.
#29
Unusual Succulent
DC 5 years ago
Yeah, hahahaha! They look kinda crotchy, ... so this is a matching name.
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Marcellus the Third 5 years ago
As Keats said, a dirty mind is a joy forever.
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Robert Robi Z 5 years ago
Don't get me wrong, but it looks like a female genitalia with a cookie stuck into it...
Justin Sander 4 years ago
Antegibbaeum fissoides if any one was wondering. It only gets really lewd when it flowers because of where that sprouts from. ;-D
#30
Stapelia
Dynein 5 years ago
Another carrion flower.... do beware of the smell. They are pollinated by carrion flies.
Anita Floyd 5 years ago
Dont get too close, Im sure this one has spores that will make you want to climb trees and act all goofy. ;)
#31
Crassula Pyramidalis
#32
Unusual Succulent
A Lazy Spider 5 years ago (edited)
Apparently it's known as Crassula 'Morgan's Beauty'. It is a beauty, though.
#33
Echeveria
#34
Lophophora
#35
Unusual Succulent
Sara Rodrigues 5 years ago
I think these are cactus, not succulents, since they have spines on the surface and flowers on the top
Dynein 5 years ago
Botanically, "succulent" is an adjective referring to plants which store water, generally in parts that are above surface - so, leaf and stem. Apparently, when describing house plants it used to specifically mean "water-storing plant that isn't a cactus", but nowadays it's generally used the botanic way. So, cacti absolutely have a right to appear in this list.
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Bulbine Mesembryanthemoides
#37
Euphorbia
Tardis42 5 years ago
That was my thought. Looks like something out of Harry Potter.
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Unusual Succulent
#39
Unusual Succulent
#40
Stapelia
#41
Haworthia
#42
Kalanchoe
#43
Astrophytum Myriostigma
#44
Unusual Succulent
#45
Monanthes Polyphylla Succulent
#46
Sedum Globosum
#47
Corkscrew Grass
#48
Pies From Heaven
Artemis Thorne 5 years ago
Pies From Heaven is the actual name for the succulent. It got its name because the leaves are roughly triangular with 2 sharp edges and the outside rim curved and crenelated, similar to pinched edges of a pie crust. Typing this is making me hungry.
#50
Unusual Succulent
Pittsburgh rare 5 years ago
I wouldn't say it's unusual, at least where I live. I've seen them and have them for years
#51
Mammillaria
#52
Jatropha
Devyn Nagy 5 years ago
I was about to comment that it looks like weird kale. You beat me to it. ;)
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#53
Pseudolithos
Christina Gude 5 years ago
It loosely looks like the dreaded Covid-19 (if you use your imagination)...ugh.
#54
Euphorbia Obesa Ssp. Symmetrica
#55
Unusual Succulent
#57
Unusual Succulent
#58
Platycerium
#61
Lophocereus Schotti
#62
Succulent
#63
Unusual Succulent
regi stra 5 years ago
i have this one, mine it's just dark green with white dot, i think its a reflection, btw its really common
KEBI Photography 5 years ago
Whats the name of it? My girlfriend loves succulents, and I am gonna get her one of these. This one looks awesome, though I wonder about if it is acclimated to the Northeastern Florida climate.
Load More Replies... Foxxy (The Original) 5 years ago
Are they actually the real colours or is it light reflecting off another surface.
Lillukka 5 years ago
Looks like a reflection, but these do turn red in sunny position.
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#66
Euphorbia Flanaganii
#67
Astrophytum Myriostigma
Monika Soffronow 5 years ago
So, tell me something! Why are we looking for extraterrestrial life away from our planet? Clearly, it is already here looking for us!
#68
Unusual Succulent
#69
Chamaecereus Silvestrii Cristata
Pittsburgh rare 5 years ago (edited)
My mum had plenty of these. She's always loved cacti and succulents
Add New Image
What do you think ?
Sharon Hahn 5 years ago
Thank you so much for all your comments to tell us about these succulents. Very informative and much appreciated!
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Lindy Mac 5 years ago
fish: fish...that is because someone was too lazy too Google the images and get the names.
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Vee Ng 5 years ago
Please remove my images from your article used in promoting other shops. I have not been asked or consented to the use of my images. While I'm ok with people sharing my photos on instagram out of interest, I'm not ok when someone uses my images to profit off of. I have never bought my plants from these shops and find it misleading to potential buyers. @chonkysuccs
troufaki13 5 years ago
I love succulents!! The flowers may have no smell at all, but they're so beautiful!! ❤
Dynein 5 years ago
Oh, them being succulents has nothing to do with them having fragrant flowers or not! That depends mostly on how they're pollinated (and whether the human breeding them desired that trait). If smell increases the attraction to the pollinator, the flowers will smell - for better or for worse. Nocturnal moths are attracted to smell, resulting in more bland but very sweet-smelling flowers, but e.g. carrion flies are attracted to smell, too, and the plants that specialized on them smell absolutely foul!
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Living_Shadow 5 years ago
I had no idea that there were these many different kinds of succulents. That's pretty amazing!
Sharon Hahn 5 years ago
Thank you so much for all your comments to tell us about these succulents. Very informative and much appreciated!
Load More Replies... Lindy Mac 5 years ago
fish: fish...that is because someone was too lazy too Google the images and get the names.
Load More Replies... Vee Ng 5 years ago
Please remove my images from your article used in promoting other shops. I have not been asked or consented to the use of my images. While I'm ok with people sharing my photos on instagram out of interest, I'm not ok when someone uses my images to profit off of. I have never bought my plants from these shops and find it misleading to potential buyers. @chonkysuccs
troufaki13 5 years ago
I love succulents!! The flowers may have no smell at all, but they're so beautiful!! ❤
Dynein 5 years ago
Oh, them being succulents has nothing to do with them having fragrant flowers or not! That depends mostly on how they're pollinated (and whether the human breeding them desired that trait). If smell increases the attraction to the pollinator, the flowers will smell - for better or for worse. Nocturnal moths are attracted to smell, resulting in more bland but very sweet-smelling flowers, but e.g. carrion flies are attracted to smell, too, and the plants that specialized on them smell absolutely foul!
Load More Replies... Living_Shadow 5 years ago
I had no idea that there were these many different kinds of succulents. That's pretty amazing!
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