Tylecodon is a genus of succulent plants in the Crassulaceae family. Until the late 1970s all these plants were included in the genus Cotyledon, but in 1978 Dr Helmut Tölken of the South Australian Herbarium split them off into a genus of their own. The new name: “Tylecodon” was chosen as an anagram of the earlier name Cotyledon. Tylecodons generally lose their leaves during summer. From mid-autumn to early winter the new leaves are borne in spiral arrangements at the branch tips. The Tylecodon genus is very varied, ranging from dwarf succulents such as Tylecodon reticulatus to Tylecodon paniculatus, which may exceed two metres in height. They all well suited to being raised in rockeries and in pots. When grown in small pots their height can be controlled and they make interesting looking natural bonsai.

Tylecodon wallichii, previously known as Cotyledon wallichii and commonly known as Wallich Cotyledon, Bandjiesbos, C’nenta, Kandelaarbos, Karkeibos, Kokerbos, Koni-ganna, Krimpsiekkandelaar, Krimpsiektebos, Nenta, Poppebos and Wallich-cotyledon, is a low-growing succulent shrub which is endemic to South Africa. It has a single greyish stem which branches a few times in its upper portion. The stem retains many phyllopodia, producing a spiky appearance. The inflorescence is a cluster of tubular greenish-yellow flowers on a long stem. The outer surfaces of the flowers are slightly hairy, the petal tips recurved and stamens exserted. The plant contains neurotoxic Cotyledoside and is poisonous to livestock but not to humans. It makes a beautiful natural bonsai when kept in a flat bonsai pot.