Question
As a young kid in the late 60's early 70's My grandma always had a plant she called the redbird plant on her porch it had a lot of small (1/4") red bird shaped with yellow dots like eyes things on it. All the older ladys around Victoria, Tx area that we knew seemed to have them . We moved in 72 and I've never seen them since how can I find out what they were and are they still around...

Answer
Andy,

I believe that the plant you are looking for is Devil抯 backbone or Pedilanthus tithymaloides.  It gets its name from the zigzag stems.  Dwarf and tall cultivars exist and there are several variations in the leaves.  This plant has succulent stems, variegated white, green and red leaves and bright red flowers.  When the flower buds appear the have the shape of a tine red bird sitting in the top of each stem.  Consequently, it's common name is red bird or red bird cactus.  I live in northern Indiana and I have a variegated one. I put it outside during the summer but only get a couple of blooms because we do not have the long hot summers of Texas. I enjoy the zig zag stems and the variegated leaves anyway. I got mine from a friend. If you do an online search with those name I am pretty sure you will be able to find a site to buy one from. They will be more likely to be on a site that sells cactus. You might also find one on ebay. Good luck.

Darlene