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Kalanchoe, also written Kalanchöe or Kalanchoë and pronounced /ˌkælənˈkoʊ.iː/,[1] is a genus of about 125 species of tropical, succulent flowering plants in the Family Crassulaceae, mainly native to the Old World but with a few species now growing wild in the New World following introduction.
Most are shrubs or perennial herbaceous plants, but a few are annual or biennial. The largest, Kalanchoe beharensis from Madagascar, can reach 6 m tall, but most species are less than 1 m tall.
Members of Kalanchoe genus are characterized by opening their flowers by growing new cells on the inner surface of the petals to force them outwards, and on the outside of the petals to close them.
These plants are cultivated as ornamental houseplants and rock or "succulent" garden plants. They are popular because of their ease of propagation, low water requirements, and wide variety of flower colors typically borne in clusters well above the vegetative growth. The section Bryophyllum - formerly an independent genus - contains species such as the "Air plant" Kalanchoe pinnata. In these plants, new individuals develop vegetatively as plantlets, also known as bulbils or gemmae, at indents along the leaves. These young plants eventually drop off and take root. No males have been found of one species of this genus which does flower and produce seeds, and it is commonly called, the Mother of Thousands. These plants are the food plant of the caterpillars of Red Pierrot butterfly. The butterfly lay its eggs on the leaf and after hatching the caterpillar go inside the leaf and eat the leaf from inside.
Read about Kalanchoe in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture
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Kalanchoe (from Chinese name). Crassulaceae. Sometimes spelled Calanchoe. Succulent glasshouse herbs or subshrubs, with interesting foliage and flowers. Usually robust erect plants: lvs. opposite, fleshy, sessile or stalked, varying from entire to crenate and pinnatifid: fls. yellow, purple or scarlet, in many-fld. terminal paniculate cymes, rather large and often showy; calyx 4-parted, the narrow lobes shorter than the corolla-tube, usually falling early; corolla 4-parted and mostly spreading, the tube usually urn-shaped; stamens 8: carpels, 4.—More than 100 species, in. the Old World tropics and in S. Afr., and 1 reported from brazil. A few species are prized by amateurs. The fls. are lasting in bouquets. For the general handling of this class of plants, see Succulents; also cotyledon and crassula. They prop, readily by seeds and cuttings. Any number of kalanchoes may appear in the collections of fanciers. Following are some of the more recent kinds, which may not be found in the regular manuals: K. angolsnris, N. E. Br. Lva. fleshy, to 4 in. long and half as broad: fls. bright yellow and numerous, variable in the number of its corolla-lobes. Trop. Afr. — K. Bentii(C. H Wright. St. 3 ft., unbranched, nearly 1 in. diam.: lvs. about 6 pairs near top of St., rigid and subcylindrical, 3-6 in. long: fls. white, in a loose erect panicle; calyx-lobes fleshy and spreading; corolla 1 ½ in. long, 4-angled, inflated at base, the limb nearly 1 in. across. Arabia. B.M. 7765. — K. diversa. N. E. Br. St. 1 ½ -2 ft high: lvs. lanceolate to elliptic-ovate, to 5 in. long, toothed, glabrous fls. with a green tube ½ in. long and vermilion-orange shorter lobes. Somaliland. — K. Dyeri, N. E. Br. A fine species. 2-2 1/2 ft. high, glabrous: lvs. elliptic and spreading, 4-7 in. long, coarsely toothed, petiole to 3 in. long: infl. corymbose-cymose, to 1 ft. long; fls. with a pale green tube 1 ½ in. long, and a pure white spreading limb of lanceolate-acute lobes 1 in. long. Trop. Afr. B.M. 7987. — K. Elizae, Berger. St. simple, about 8 in.: lvs. oblong, nearly 4 in. long, entire: fls. red, in axillary thyrse-like panicles; corolla almost 2-lipped, the tube nearly 1 in. long, the lobes linear and acute and about 1/2in. long. Trop. Afr. — K. felthamensis. Hort., is a hybrid of K. flammea and K. Kirkii. — K. kewensis, Hort., is a hybrid of K. Bentii and K. flammea. — K. latistpala, N. E. Br. Related to K. Dyeri, but lvs. sessile and fls. about half the size: st. about 2 ft.: lvs. obovate, 4-5 in. long: fls. white, in many-fld. terminal cymes; corolla-tube 1 ¼ in. long; lobes ½ in. long, ovate or elliptic-ovate. Trop. Afr. — K. Luciae, Hamet. St. stout, simple, erect: lvs. sessile, obovate or obovate-spatulate, 1-3 in. long: fls. (color not given) in a panicle-like cluster, the corolla urn-shaped and the segms. shorter than tube. Transvaal. — K. mdgnidens, N. E. Br. St. 2 1/2 ft. or more, glabrous, green and with no bloom: lvs. petioled, 3 1/2 in. or less long, the lower elliptic-ovate and with 3 or 4 large tect' either side: infl. loosely branched, the ultimate cymes com The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text. |
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References
- ↑ Sunset Western Garden Book, 1995:606–607; Template:OED
- Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture, by L. H. Bailey, MacMillan Co., 1963
External links
- w:Kalanchoe. Some of the material on this page may be from Wikipedia, under the Creative Commons license.
- Kalanchoe QR Code (Size 50, 100, 200, 500)