Faucaria tigrina

That is a very striking flower on a dangerously spiny plant.

Thanks. It isn't spiny at all, they are just soft bumps and hairs on a very tiny plant :)

That is good to know.

That's another one on my list - lovely!

I had one a few years ago but it died, and I saw this one in Wilko.

According to the South African National Biodiversity Institute the common names for your plant are tiger-jaws or shark-jaws. It gets its name from the fierce looking toothed, triangular shaped leaves which seem to drip with 'saliva' and are held ajar in a menacing poise. It says the eye-catching leaves, together with the large yellow flowers make this plant a striking addition to the home as a potted plant or as a feature in a rockery garden. Lol is this a sheep in wolves clothing? You do have some very interesting plants.

It's a sheep in wolves clothing :)
2.5 inches across and 1.5 inches high … and it feels rubbery. The things that look like spines are hairs.

http://www.cactus-art.biz/schede/FAUCARIA/Faucaria_tigrina/Faucaria_tigrina/Faucaria_tigrina.htm

I don't like common names for plants personally. I think they sound daft. Maybe it's because of my Botany A level teacher who was very particular about the Latin names.

Wow that is a very interesting website. The photographs on it are wonderful. When I first started gardening my friend advised me to learn the Latin names of the plants I wanted to buy. She reckoned that if you did not do your homework you could be sadly disillusioned when you found out too late that you had bought an inferior specimen. Sometimes all you find when looking at a plant you would like to buy is the common name. I find googling that name can provide the Latin name. There were no computers to consult in those days and few garden centres. She did not like them either and advised me to buy from specialist nurseries because the owner gardeners of those were keen plantsmen who would know their plants. That is probably what first stimulated my need to know more about the plants, where they came from, which family they belonged to etc. We were both very lucky in knowing and learning from people who loved to impart knowledge.

I try to buy from local nurseries also. They are more interested in plants.

I so agree. We live in a rural area where farms were divided in to small holdings. The men who lived in them rented them from the Dept. of Agriculture. Since the 1970's the houses and a third to half an acre of garden ground have been sold off to private buyers. The seven or so acres of land then sold or leased to neighbouring farmers. The small holders grew tomatoes, raspberries, strawberries gooseberries and blackcurrants. They also grew wild primroses, pansies and wallflower. When it was time to make jam you went along and bought ready picked fruit, usually picked by older school children making their pocket money during the school holidays. Depending on the season you would buy wallflower for a spring show and pansies for summer bedding. It is a way of life that has died out now which means food travels from across the globe.

Fresh produce is always better than that which has travelled a long way but the world is a different place now. Things change with time. Unfortunately lots of the changes are not for the better. More changes are likely in the future.