Kalanchoe daigremontiana

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Kalanchoe daigremontiana
Vivipary in Kalanchoe daigremontiana.jpg
Plantlets on leaves
Scientific classification Red Pencil Icon.png
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Crassulaceae
Genus: Kalanchoe
Species:
K. daigremontiana
Binomial name
Kalanchoe daigremontiana
Synonyms [1]
  • Bryophyllum daigremontianum(Raym.-Hamet & H.Perrier) A.Berger

Kalanchoe daigremontiana, formerly known as Bryophyllum daigremontianum and commonly called mother of thousands, or Mexican hat plant, is a succulent plant native to Madagascar. Like other members of Bryophyllum (now included in the genus Kalanchoe ), [1] it can propagate vegetatively from plantlets that develop on its leaf margins, as well as through upshoots from lateral roots, and seeds. All parts of this species contain a very toxic steroid known as daigremontianin. [2] [3]

Contents

It is often confused with K. laetivirens, K. delagoensis and K. × houghtonii. The leaves of K. laetivirens are completely green, while K. daigremontiana has bands or spots on the back of leaves. The leaves of K. delagoensis are linear, while K. daigremontiana has lanceolate, oblong, ovate or triangular leaves. K. × houghtonii is a hybrid between K. daigremontiana and K. delagoensis, therefore has characteristics in between; its leaves are narrower than those of K. daigremontiana, and its leaf base is attenuate, cuneate to weakly cordate or auriculate, while K. daigremontiana has strongly cordate to auriculate or even peltate leaves. [4]

Morphology

Plants grow up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) tall [5] and have opposite and whorled, fleshy oblong-lanceolate leaves which grow up to 20 cm (8 in) long and 32 mm (1+14 in) wide. They are green above and blotched with purple underneath. Leaf margins have spoon-shaped bulbiliferous spurs which bear plantlets which may form roots while still attached to leaves. [6]

A plant may also develop lateral roots on its main stalk, as high up as 10–15 cm (3.9–5.9 in) above the ground. A plant's upper leaves may grow large, causing its main stalk to bend downward. Then the lateral roots may enter soil and new vertical shoots may grow from the original shoot. Kalanchoe daigremontiana can spread by both seeds and by plantlets dropped from its leaves.

Kalanchoe daigremontiana has an umbrella-like terminal inflorescence (a compound cyme) of small bell-shaped, grayish pink (or sometimes orange) flowers. Flowering is, however, not an annual event and occurs sporadically if at all on some shoots. Particularly in climates with distinct seasonal temperature differences, flowering is most frequently observed at the beginning of a warm season. Indoor plants, as well as balcony plants which have been moved inside to survive the cold season, begin flowering in early winter.

As a succulent plant, K. daigremontiana can survive prolonged periods of drought with little or no water. During growth periods with higher temperatures and increased water supply, this species requires proper nutrition, without which leaves show deficiency symptoms such as crippled growth and pustule-like lesions. The plant is not frost-hardy and typically dies in places where temperatures are below freezing.

Physiology

Plants of the genus Kalanchoe as well as many other plants growing in arid regions photosynthesize via Crassulacean acid metabolism.

Distribution

Kalanchoe daigremontiana is native to the Fiherenana River valley and Androhibolava mountains in southwest Madagascar. It has been introduced to numerous tropical and subtropical regions, such as Florida, Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, and parts of southern Europe.

Habitat

Kalanchoe daigremontiana prefers to grow in rocky and dry places.

It can become an invasive plant and threaten natural ecosystems, especially in arid and semi-arid environments (South Africa and regions of South America for example), where it can inhibit native-plant recruitment. [7]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vegetative reproduction</span> Asexual method of reproduction in plants

Vegetative reproduction is any form of asexual reproduction occurring in plants in which a new plant grows from a fragment or cutting of the parent plant or specialized reproductive structures, which are sometimes called vegetative propagules.

<i>Kalanchoe</i> Genus of flowering plants in the stonecrop family

KalanchoeKAL-ən-KOH-ee, also written Kalanchöe or Kalanchoë, is a genus of about 125 species of tropical, succulent plants in the stonecrop family Crassulaceae, mainly native to Madagascar and tropical Africa. A Kalanchoe species was one of the first plants to be sent into space, sent on a resupply to the Soviet Salyut 1 space station in 1979. The majority of kalanchoes require around 6-8 hours of sunlight a day; a few cannot tolerate this, and survive with bright, indirect sunlight to bright shade.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aerial root</span> Root which grows above the ground

Aerial roots are roots above the ground. They are almost always adventitious. They are found in diverse plant species, including epiphytes such as orchids (Orchidaceae), tropical coastal swamp trees such as mangroves, banyan figs, the warm-temperate rainforest rata, and pohutukawa trees of New Zealand. Vines such as common ivy and poison ivy also have aerial roots.

<i>Kalanchoe beharensis</i> Species of succulent

Kalanchoe beharensis is a plant species in the succulent genus Kalanchoe, and the family Crassulaceae. Kalanchoe beharensis is native to Madagascar known by local names mongy, rongy and tavitavy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cutting (plant)</span> Method of propagating plants

A plant cutting is a piece of a plant that is used in horticulture for vegetative (asexual) propagation. A piece of the stem or root of the source plant is placed in a suitable medium such as moist soil. If the conditions are suitable, the plant piece will begin to grow as a new plant independent of the parent, a process known as striking. A stem cutting produces new roots, and a root cutting produces new stems. Some plants can be grown from leaf pieces, called leaf cuttings, which produce both stems and roots. The scions used in grafting are also called cuttings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rosette (botany)</span> Botany term for a circular arrangement of leaves

In botany, a rosette is a circular arrangement of leaves or of structures resembling leaves.

<i>Bryophyllum</i> Section of genus Kalanchoe, in the stonecrop family (Crassulaceae, subfamily Kalanchoöideae)

Bryophyllum is a group of plant species of the family Crassulaceae native to Madagascar. It is a section or subgenus within the genus Kalanchoe, and was formerly placed at the level of genus. This section is notable for vegetatively growing small plantlets on the fringes of the leaves; these eventually drop off and root. These plantlets arise from mitosis of meristematic-type tissue in notches in the leaves.

<i>Cotyledon orbiculata</i> Species of plant

Cotyledon orbiculata, commonly known as pig's ear or round-leafed navel-wort, is a South African succulent plant belonging to the genus Cotyledon.

<i>Kalanchoe blossfeldiana</i> Species of succulent

Kalanchoe blossfeldiana is a herbaceous and commonly cultivated house plant of the genus Kalanchoe native to Madagascar. It is known by the English common names flaming Katy, Christmas kalanchoe, florist kalanchoe and Madagascar widow's-thrill.

<i>Kalanchoe delagoensis</i> Species of succulent

Kalanchoe delagoensis, formerly known as Bryophyllum delagoense and commonly called mother of millions or chandelier plant, is a succulent plant native to Madagascar. Like other members of Bryophyllum, it is able to propagate vegetatively from plantlets that develop on its leaf margins.

<i>Kalanchoe pinnata</i> Succulent plant native to Madagascar

Kalanchoe pinnata, commonly known as cathedral bells, air plant, life plant, miracle leaf, and Goethe plant is a succulent plant native to Madagascar. It is a popular houseplant and has become naturalized in tropical and subtropical areas. The species is distinctive for the profusion of miniature plantlets that form on the margins of its phylloclades, a trait it has in common with some other members of Bryophyllum.

<i>Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi</i> Species of succulent

Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi, formerly known as Bryophyllum fedtschenkoi, native to Madagascar, is widely sold as a house or garden plant that has established itself in the wild in some southern parts of the United States of America. Its specific epithet fedtschenkoi honors botanist Boris Fedtschenko (1873-1947).

<i>Dracaena pinguicula</i> Species of flowering plant

Dracaena pinguicula, synonym Sansevieria pinguicula, also known as the walking sansevieria, is a xerophytic CAM succulent native to the Bura area of Kenya, near Garissa. The species was described by Peter René Oscar Bally in 1943.

<i>Pachyphytum</i> Genus of succulents

Pachyphytum is a small genus of succulents in the family Crassulaceae, native to Mexico, at elevations from 600 to 1,500 metres. The name comes from the ancient Greek pachys (=thick) and phyton (=plant) because of the shape of the leaves.

<i>Kalanchoe manginii</i> Species of succulent

Kalanchoe manginii, beach bells, is a species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae, native to Madagascar. It is an evergreen succulent perennial growing to 30 cm (12 in) tall and wide, with arching branches of rounded, glossy leaves, and urn-shaped salmon-red flowers in spring. As the minimum temperature for growth is 10 °C (50 °F), in temperate regions this plant must be grown under glass as a houseplant.

<i>Hypericum undulatum</i> Species of flowering plant in the St Johns wort family Hypericaceae

Hypericum undulatum, the wavy St Johns Wort, is a herbaceous perennial flowering plant native to western Europe and northern Africa. The specific name undulatum is Latin, meaning "wavy" or "undulated", referring, just as the common name, to the wavy leaf margins of the herb. The plant has a diploid number of 16 or 32.

<i>Kalanchoe suarezensis</i> Species of succulent

Kalanchoe suarezensis is a species of Kalanchoe native to northern Madagascar.

Kalanchoe mortagei is a species of Kalanchoe native to northern Madagascar. It is very similar to K. suarezensis, and both of them used to be mistakenly treated as varieties of a totally different species K. poincarei. K. mortagei differs by having auriculate to peltate leaves, while the leaf base of K. suarezensis is attenuate to truncate.

<i>Kalanchoe <span style="font-style:normal;">×</span> laetivirens</i> Species of succulent

Kalanchoe laetivirens is a species of Kalanchoe. It is most likely a hybrid between K. daigremontiana and K. laxiflora, and therefore a group of invalid names for such a hybrid, including Kalanchoe crenodaigremontiana, Kalanchoe crenato-daigremontiana, Bryophyllum crenodaigremontianum and Bryophyllum crenato-daigremontianum, are just synonyms of K. laetivirens.

<i>Kalanchoe <span style="font-style:normal;">×</span> houghtonii</i> Species of succulent

Kalanchoe × houghtonii is a hybrid between K. daigremontiana and K. delagoensis named after Arthur Duvernoix Houghton. It is often confused with K. daigremontiana which has strongly cordate to auriculate or even peltate leaves, while the leaves of K. × houghtonii are narrower and the leaf base is attenuate, cuneate to weakly cordate or auriculate.

References

  1. 1 2 "Kalanchoe daigremontiana Raym.-Hamet & H.Perrier". Plants of the World Online. Kew Science. Retrieved 2020-10-09.
  2. Wagner, Hildebert; Fischer, Manfred; Lotter, Hermann (1985). "New Bufadienolides from Kalanchoe daigremontiana Hamet et Perr. (Crassulaceae)" (PDF). Zeitschrift für Naturforschung B. 40 (9): 1226–1228. doi:10.1515/znb-1985-0920. S2CID   95146056.
  3. McKenzie, R. A.; Armstrong, T. R. (1986). "Poisoning of cattle by Bryophyllum plants". Queensland Agricultural Journal. 112 (3): 105–108. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  4. Shaw, J.M.H. (2008). "An investigation of the cultivated Kalanchoe daigremontiana group, with a checklist of Kalanchoe cultivars" (PDF). Hanburyana. 3: 17–79.
  5. Burnie, David (1998). The DK Nature Encyclopedia. New York: DK Publishing, Inc. pp.  29. ISBN   0-7894-3411-3.
  6. Batygina, T. B.; Bragina, E. A.; Titova, G. E. (1996). "Morphogenesis of propagules in viviparous species Bryophyllum daigremontianum and B. calycinum". Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae. 65 (1–2): 127–133. doi: 10.5586/asbp.1996.022 .
  7. Herrera, Ileana; Ferrer-Paris, José R.; Hernández-Rosas, José I.; Nassar, Jafet M. (2016). "Impact of two invasive succulents on native-seedling recruitment in Neotropical arid environments". Journal of Arid Environments. 132: 15–25. Bibcode:2016JArEn.132...15H. doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2016.04.007 . Retrieved 6 May 2016.

Further reading