Bryophyllum pinnatum
Bryophyllum delagoense
air or life or curtain or Mexican love plant, floppers, live or good-luck or miracle or sprouting leaf, mother-in-law
chandelier plant, tingo tingo
little-branched, (suckering at base), terete, 5–20 dm × 0.5–2 cm.
simple, terete, 5–20 dm × 0.5–1 cm.
opposite, evenly spaced, the 1st simple, the rest mostly pinnate with 3 or 5 short-stalked leaflets;
petiole subterete, 20–100 mm;
blade and leaflets green streaked with purple, elliptic-oblong, 5–20 × 2–12 cm, margins crenate-serrate, apex obtuse, surfaces ± glaucous;
bulbils in notches of leaf margins.
mostly in 3s, opposite or whorled, evenly spaced, simple;
petiole and blade indistinguishable, reddish green to gray-green with reddish brown spots, narrowly oblong, subcylindric, grooved adaxially, 3–15 cm × 3–6 mm, margins entire except for 3–9 conic teeth at apex, apex blunt, surfaces not glaucous;
bulbils borne between teeth, spurs spoon-shaped.
10–25 mm.
5–30 mm.
calyx pale yellow flecked with red, inflated, 25–50 mm, (papery), tube 24–40 mm, lobes deltate, to 10 mm, shorter than tube, apex acute;
corolla with tube greenish white and exserted portion maroon, 30–70 mm, contracted basally, (sparsely glandular-puberulent), lobes oblong-ovate to triangular, 10–20 mm, apex acuminate.
calyx pale green, not inflated, 8–16 mm, tube 3–6 mm, lobes triangular, 5–10 mm, longer than tube, apex acuminate;
corolla orange to scarlet, 25–40 mm, not contracted basally, lobes obovate, 6–12 mm, apex rounded or apiculate.
open, paniculate, 1–8 dm diam.;
branches to 12 cm.
mostly dense, corymbiform, 0.5–2 dm diam.;
branches to 3 cm.
= 40.
= 68.
Bryophyllum pinnatum
Bryophyllum delagoense
Bryophyllum pinnatum is common in southern Florida, as far north as Gainesville in good years but killed back in cold winters (Daniel Ward, pers. comm.). It is widely grown as an ornamental and curiosity and for medicine. It has been the subject of many physiological and anatomical studies (A. Berger 1930; P. Boiteau and L. Allorge-Boiteau 1995).
P. Knuth (1906–1909, vol. 2) quoted J. Delpino’s report of abundant nectar in the flowers and his suggestion of visits by hummingbirds—which, however, are not in Madagascar! Perhaps they are visited by sunbirds. On distal leaves J. H. Craft (1943) found nectaries that at flowering time secrete droplets high in glucose.
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
The names Bryophyllum tubiflorum and Kalanchoë tubiflora are widely used in horticultural as well as botanical works, with K. delagoensis usually listed in synonymy as a nomen nudum. H. R. Toelken (1985) wrote that the three-word original diagnosis of K. delagoensis was enough to distinguish it from other species treated. R. W. Long and O. Lakela (1971) misidentified it as K. grandiflora A. Richards.
The subcylindric part of the leaf seems to be the petiole, bearing a greatly reduced blade with one to four pairs of teeth (P. Boiteau and L. Allorge-Boiteau 1995).
This prolific species is an aggressive weed, well established in southern Florida and coastal southern Texas. In Australia, where it is called “mother of millions,” it is a serious pest because it is highly poisonous to cattle (P. I. Forster 1996).
(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)
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