Echidnopsis is a weird and distinctive group of stapeliads in the same tribe as Ceropegia, Rhytidocaulon, and Pseudolithos, with textures and shapes that often recall the more familiar members of those genera. Usually forming smaller, creeping stems, the genus is especially notable for its star-shaped, mostly tiny flowers, with only a single species breaking that pattern. These plants are confined to Northeast Africa and the Arabian Peninsula, with some of the most striking diversity concentrated in the botanical wonderland of Socotra. This particular species, E. similis, appears to have largely evaded cultivation, having only been described in 1993 from Somalia, where geopolitical instability has limited deeper botanical exploration and much still remains to be uncovered.
