This pachycaulous succulent is one of the more benign members of the stinging nettle family (Urticaceae).  I have only managed to find with the back of my hand one or two of the stinging hairs rarely produced on the underside of the leaf petiole.  The elegant, dark-green leaves are palmately lobed and have a rugose surface, while the gracefully tapered trunks have an attractively patterned bark.  The species is endemic to Réunion Island, near Madagascar, and comes in two forms – the southern form offered here has larger leaves and is nearly devoid of stinging hairs.  According to Clément Duret of the Jardin Botanique in Réunion, the species is critically endangered; fewer than 250 mature individuals are estimated to survive (with no subpopulation containing more than 50). See Bradleya 22:43-52, 2004.  Among the significant threats to its survival are urban and agricultural encroachment, the introduced African snail, Achatina fulica, which displays a preference for seedling obetias over other food plants, and competition from invasive exotics.  A consequence of the endangered status of O. ficifolia is the even greater rarity of Salamis augustina (see http://www.chez.com/guillermet/salamis.htm), a butterfly for which O. ficifolia is the only larval food source.  We offer seedlings of HBG 72906, a plant whose precise origin is uncertain but apparently the form from southern Réunion Island where the species grows in association with Delosperma napiforme (ISI 2005-17).  $7.50.