Hmm! Animal, vegetable or mineral? Just checking that you are not REALLY teasing us. Can I rule out animal (and mineral)?
Silver surfer: It's a plant!!!! lol Carica papaya stem? No First clue: It is not a maple Second clue: I took the picture in my garden Gomero
Hey, I think that's a succulent I used to have that I called watermelon pickle because of its markings! Gets green leaves, thickish, arrowhead shaped, and smell like cucumber?
Excellent Tyrlych: Tribe: senecioneae as pointed out by Pierrot; genus: kleinia; species: neriifolia. It is native endemic to the Canary Islands and it used to be in the genus Senecio. Common Spanish name 'Verode'. Very drought resistant and can take down to 0°C. In my garden is in a pot and goes into a heated greenhouse when hard frosts are forecast. Here is a picture with leaves, which is its most common appearance ;o)). Gomero
Came across this one late, I knew what it was too, honest. I used to have it and recognised the markings below the leaf attachment points. I still have S. articulatus which of course also has these markings. The height in the Canaries is up to 5-6ft (1.5-1.8m).
It could actually grow up to 3 m in some 'barrancos' (see links below). Steve , are you saying you grow it in your place?, what do you do in the winter? Gomero http://images.google.fr/imgres?imgurl=http://www.naturephoto-cz.eu/pic/andera/kleinia-neriifolia-9461.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.naturephoto-cz.eu/kleinia-neriifolia-picture-10125.html&usg=__pvGH661Zumbowf7PXdgSCsvJD3o=&h=600&w=427&sz=85&hl=fr&start=2&sig2=BxjbNZJvfhIae5SECAFy-A&um=1&tbnid=clqk-cD60obF3M:&tbnh=135&tbnw=96&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dkleinia%2Bneriifolia%26hl%3Dfr%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DX%26um%3D1&ei=O6NLS4T4A-mw4Abxpcn2Ag http://images.google.fr/imgres?imgurl=http://www.floracyberia.net/spermatophyta/angiospermae/dicotyledoneae/asteraceae/kleinia_neriifolia.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.floracyberia.net/spermatophyta/angiospermae/dicotyledoneae/asteraceae/kleinia_neriifolia.html&usg=__GhrunrP4m7a-u5r4YaTOAHKZw2M=&h=601&w=824&sz=161&hl=fr&start=1&sig2=962wA-zvkwi3RpbV4gJCBg&um=1&tbnid=jrq5Kx65UMx45M:&tbnh=105&tbnw=144&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dkleinia%2Bneriifolia%26hl%3Dfr%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DX%26um%3D1&ei=O6NLS4T4A-mw4Abxpcn2Ag http://www.biologie.uni-regensburg.de/Botanik/Schoenfelder/kanaren/images/Kleinia_neriifolia.jpg http://www.cactuspro.com/photos.php?action=afficher&id=3431
