Bryophyllum daigremontianum |
Bryophyllum fedtschenkoi |
|
---|---|---|
devil's backbone, maternity plant |
lavender scallops |
|
Habit | Herbs, monocarpic, purple-mottled, glaucous. | Herbs, polycarpic, gray-green to green or purple, glaucous or not. |
Stems | mostly simple, terete, 5–25 dm × 0.5–2 cm. |
suberect or later decumbent and rooting, branched, terete, rough with leaf scars, to 8 dm × 1 cm. |
Leaves | opposite, evenly spaced, simple, largest subpeltate; petiole subterete, 1–5 cm; blade purple-blotched abaxially, triangular to lanceolate, 5–25 × 3–12 cm, margins serrate, apex acute, surfaces glaucous; bulbils borne in notches of leaf margins, spurs spoon-shaped. |
opposite, evenly spaced, simple; petiole terete, (often turned obliquely), 1–6 mm; blade lavender-gray, obovate, 2–10 × 1.5–8 cm, margins crenate throughout or apically, apex obtuse, surfaces glaucous; bulbils borne mostly in notches of leaf margins on damaged or fallen leaves. |
Pedicels | 5–15 mm. |
5–15 mm. |
Flowers | calyx green or purplish, not inflated, 6–10 mm, tube 3–4 mm, lobes triangular, 3–7 mm, equaling or longer than tube, apex acute; corolla pink or lavender, 20–30 mm, not contracted basally, lobes obovate, 6–12 mm, apex rounded, apiculate. |
calyx violet-flecked, inflated, 10–18 mm, tube 6–11 mm, lobes deltate, 4–7 mm, shorter than tube, apex acute; corolla orange-red, 18–25 mm, contracted basally, lobes obovate, 5–8 mm, apex obtuse to rounded. |
Cymes | lax, paniculate, 1.5–3 dm diam.; branches to 15 cm. |
open, corymbiform, to 1.5 dm diam.; branches to 5 cm. |
2n | = 38. |
= 34. |
Bryophyllum daigremontianum |
Bryophyllum fedtschenkoi |
|
Phenology | Flowering winter. | Flowering winter–spring. |
Habitat | Waste ground, mesquite-cactus thickets | Disturbed places |
Elevation | 0 m (0 ft) | 0 m (0 ft) |
Distribution |
FL; TX; Indian Ocean Islands (Madagascar) [Introduced in North America] |
FL; TX; Indian Ocean Islands (Madagascar) [Introduced in North America] |
Discussion | Bryophyllum daigremontianum is well established and an aggressive weed in southern Florida and in coastal southern Texas. M. G. Groner (1975) found that exudates of its roots can inhibit the growth of nearby plants, as can extracts of its shoots. The entire plant contains bufadienolides and is toxic to cattle (R. A. McKenzie et al. 1987). The hybrid Bryophyllum daigremontianum × B. delagoense is much like B. daigremontianum but with narrower leaves; some specimens identified as B. daigremontianum may possibly be the hybrid. The hybrid is widely naturalized in Queensland. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Apparently, Bryophyllum fedtschenkoi is established only locally in the flora area, in waste places in southwestern Florida (Sanibel Island) and on clay mounds among native shrubs in coastal southern Texas. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 8, p. 159. | FNA vol. 8, p. 159. |
Parent taxa | ||
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | Kalanchoë daigremontiana | Kalanchoë fedtschenkoi |
Name authority | (Raymond-Hamet & H. Perrier) A. Berger: in H. G. A. Engler and K. Prantl, Nat. Pflanzenfam. ed. 2, 18a: 412. 1930 , | (Raymond-Hamet & H. Perrier) Lauzac-Marchal: Compt. Rend. Hebd. Séances Acad. Sci., Sér. D 278: 2508. 1974 , |
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