EASY to care for, long lasting and more popular than ever, succulents are the plants that people are buying for themselves and giving as gifts to bring the beauty of nature inside.

Succulent plants have long made a thoughtful offering for a friend or relative whose thumb might be less than green. Succulents are drought resistant; their leaves, stems or roots are fleshier than those of other plants because of the presence of water-storing tissue. (Whether cacti are technically succulents is a matter of debate among botanists and horticulturists, but most people know that both can be watered less often than other plants.)