Bryophyllum
Encyclopedia
The Bryophyllums are a section
in the plant genus
Kalanchoe
of the Crassulaceae
family
. There are about twenty to thirty species in the group, native originally of South Africa
, Madagascar
, and Asia
. The group 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.
Nowadays, bryophyllums are naturalised in many parts of the tropics
, either deliberately cultivated originally for their attractiveness and interesting reproduction. Some species are toxic, containing plant acids, bufadienolide alkaloid
s, calcium oxalate
etc, and have become noxious weeds in parts of the world. In the native range of some of these Kalanchoe species in the Karroo region of South Africa, they are abundant enough that they cause disease in livestock, known as krimpsiekte ("shrinking disease") or as cotyledonosis.
There are many hybrids, e.g. Kalanchoe × crenatodaigremontiana (K. crenata × K. daigremontiana) or Houghton's Hybrid (B.daigremontianum × B.delagoensis).
Some other species in this section are:
Section (botany)
In botany, a section is a taxonomic rank below the genus, but above the species. The subgenus, if present, is higher than the section, and the rank of series, if present, is below the section. Sections are typically used to help organise very large genera, which may have hundreds of species...
in the plant genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Kalanchoe
Kalanchoe
Kalanchoe , also written Kalanchöe or Kalanchoë, 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 of the species.Most are shrubs or...
of the Crassulaceae
Crassulaceae
Crassulaceae, or the orpine family, are a family of dicotyledons. They store water in their succulent leaves. They are found worldwide, but mostly occur in the Northern Hemisphere and southern Africa, typically in dry and/or cold areas where water may be scarce...
family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
. There are about twenty to thirty species in the group, native originally of South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, and Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. The group is notable for vegetatively
Vegetative reproduction
Vegetative reproduction is a form of asexual reproduction in plants. It is a process by which new individuals arise without production of seeds or spores...
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.
Nowadays, bryophyllums are naturalised in many parts of the tropics
Tropics
The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the northern hemisphere at approximately N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere at S; these latitudes correspond to the axial tilt of the Earth...
, either deliberately cultivated originally for their attractiveness and interesting reproduction. Some species are toxic, containing plant acids, bufadienolide alkaloid
Alkaloid
Alkaloids are a group of naturally occurring chemical compounds that contain mostly basic nitrogen atoms. This group also includes some related compounds with neutral and even weakly acidic properties. Also some synthetic compounds of similar structure are attributed to alkaloids...
s, calcium oxalate
Calcium oxalate
Calcium oxalate is a chemical compound that forms needle-shaped crystals, known in plants as raphides. A major constituent of human kidney stones, the chemical is also found in beerstone, a scale that forms on containers used in breweries...
etc, and have become noxious weeds in parts of the world. In the native range of some of these Kalanchoe species in the Karroo region of South Africa, they are abundant enough that they cause disease in livestock, known as krimpsiekte ("shrinking disease") or as cotyledonosis.
There are many hybrids, e.g. Kalanchoe × crenatodaigremontiana (K. crenata × K. daigremontiana) or Houghton's Hybrid (B.daigremontianum × B.delagoensis).
Selected species
The three most commonly cultivated species are:- Kalanchoe daigremontianaKalanchoe daigremontianaKalanchoe daigremontiana syn. Bryophyllum daigremontianum also called Devil's Backbone, Alligator Plant, Mexican Hat Plant or Mother of Thousands is a succulent plant native to Madagascar. This plant is distinguished by its ability to propagate via vegetative propagation...
(Syn. Bryophyllum daigremontianum): Devil's Backbone or mother-of-thousands. Native of MadagascarMadagascarThe Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
; introduced and naturalized in many parts of tropical and subtropical Africa, Asia (Indian Ocean islands), North America (Florida) and South Africa; cultivated in Pakistan. - Kalanchoe pinnataKalanchoe pinnataKalanchoe pinnata is a succulent plant native to Madagascar...
(Syn. Bryophyllum calycinum, Bryophyllum pinnatum): Air Plant. Native of Tropical Africa, cultivated or naturalized on many Pacific Islands (TongaTongaTonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
, HawaiiHawaiiHawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
). It is also called the "Goethe Plant" since the famous writer Johann Wolfgang von GoetheJohann Wolfgang von GoetheJohann Wolfgang von Goethe was a German writer, pictorial artist, biologist, theoretical physicist, and polymath. He is considered the supreme genius of modern German literature. His works span the fields of poetry, drama, prose, philosophy, and science. His Faust has been called the greatest long...
— who also was an amateur naturalistNatural historyNatural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
of some repute — was "passionately fond" of this plant and liked to give the baby plantlets as gifts to friends who visited his home. He also discussed his air plant at length in the essay that was titled Geschichte meiner botanischen Studien ("History of my botanical studies"). - Kalanchoe delagoensisKalanchoe delagoensisKalanchoe delagoensis is a succulent plant native to Madagascar. In common with the other members of the Bryophyllum section of the genus Kalanchoe, K. delagoensis is notable for vegetatively growing small plantlets on the fringes of its leaves, leading to its common names of mother of thousands...
(Syn. Bryophyllum delagoense, Bryophyllum tubiflorum, Bryophyllum verticillatum)
Some other species in this section are:
- Kalanchoe adelae (Syn. Bryophyllum adelae)
- Kalanchoe beauverdii (Syn. Bryophyllum beauverdii, Bryophyllum costantinii, Bryophyllum juelii, Bryophyllum scandens)
- Kalanchoe bouvetii (Syn. Bryophyllum bouvetii)
- Kalanchoe campanulata
- Kalanchoe fedtschenkoiKalanchoe fedtschenkoiKalanchoe fedtschenkoi is a species of Kalanchoe....
- Kalanchoe gastonis-bonnieriKalanchoe gastonis-bonnieriKalanchoe gastonis-bonnieri is a species of flowering plant in the Crassulaceae family.-References:*J. T. Baldwin, Jr., . Kalanchoe: the genus and its chromosomes, American Journal of Botany Vol. 25...
(Syn. Bryophyllum gastonis-bonnieri) - Kalanchoe laxiflora (Syn. Bryophyllum crenatum)
- Kalanchoe macrochlamys (Syn. Bryophyllum macrochlamys)
- Kalanchoe manginii (Syn. Bryophyllum manginii)
- Kalanchoe marnieriana (Syn. Bryophyllum marnierianum)
- Kalanchoe miniata (Syn. Bryophyllum miniatum)
- Kalanchoe prolifera (Syn. Bryophyllum proliferum)
- Kalanchoe pubescens (Syn. Bryophyllum aliciae, Bryophyllum pubescens)
- Kalanchoe rolandi-bonapartei (Syn. Bryophyllum rolandi-bonapartei, Bryophyllum tsaratananense)
- Kalanchoe rosei (Syn. Bryophyllum rosei)
- Kalanchoe schizophylla (Syn. Bryophyllum schizophyllum )
- Kalanchoe serrata (Syn. Bryophyllum lauzac-marchaliae)
- Kalanchoe streptantha (Syn. Bryophyllum streptanthum)
- Kalanchoe suarezensis (Syn. Bryophyllum suarezense)
- Kalanchoe uniflora
Vernacular names
Many names: Mother of Thousands; Mother of Millions; Devil's Backbone; Pregnant Plant, Mexican Hat Plant; Flopper; Sotre-Sotry; Air Plant; Miracle Leaf; Sprouting Leaf; Sprout Leaf Plant; Leaf of Life; Resurrection Plant; Canterbury Bells; Cathedral Bells; Mexican Love Plant; Life Plant; Floppers; Good Luck Leaf; Lifeplant; Mexican Love Plant; Mother in Law; Tree Of Life; Hawaiian Air Leaf; Monkey Ears; Monkeys Ear...- German: Brutblatt, Goethe-BlattWurzelblatt, Keimblatt, Knotenblatt, Moosblatt, Lebenszweig
- Hawaiian: ‘oliwa kū kahakai ("beach oliveOliveThe olive , Olea europaea), is a species of a small tree in the family Oleaceae, native to the coastal areas of the eastern Mediterranean Basin as well as northern Iran at the south end of the Caspian Sea.Its fruit, also called the olive, is of major agricultural importance in the...
") - Spanish: (Yerba de) Bruja; Prodigiosa; Flor de aire; Siempre Viva; Hoja Del Aire.
- Quichua: Chiriyuyu, Chiriyugu
- Hindi: Pathar Chat ("it licks away the stone") OR Patthar Tod ("It breaks the stone") The plant is popular in India for its use in folk medicine. Purportedly, use of the plant dissolves and prevents kidney stones. Practice is to cleanse the leaves and eat them early morning for 20 days to dissolve existing stones, and regular ingestion to prevent future ones.
- Bengali: Pathar Kuchi ("It breaks stones").