The Kalanchoe Page

Kalanchoe beharensis  Drake 1903
This shrubby plant has a long grey-brown stem, made knobbly by leaf scars with sharp projections. Towards the ends of the stems are a few large, felted deltoid leaves with undulate margins. The leaf surface has white to brownish pubescence. The inflorescence is a panicle of many, small, pink to greenish-yellow flowers.
 
Native to dry forests of Southern Madagascar. Makes a fine specimen plant, but needs to be restarted regularly to look its best.

Kalanchoe blossfeldiana  von Poellnitz 1934 (Flaming Katy)
The 1ft branching stem has smooth, fleshy ovate leaves have irregular serrated edges. Clusters of flowers are produced with four diamond-shaped petals.
 
Probably the most common Kalanchoe cultivated by the horticultural trade. Vast numbers of this undemanding plant are produced with flowers in many shades of magenta, red, yellow, white and green. Double flowers have appeared recently. New plants are easily propagated from cuttings and will flower better than an old plant.
Native to Northern Madagascar, in forests up to 7800ft above sea level.

Kalanchoe bracteata  Scott Elliot 1891
This low branching shrublet has thin branches with quite fleshy ovate leaves. Some clones have all-green leaves and others have leaves with a silvery coating. Clusters of bright orange-red, rather fleshy tubular flowers are produced at the ends of the stems.
 
Native to South-East Madagascar.

Kalanchoe daigremontiana  Hamet & Perrier 1914 (Alligator Teardrop Plant, Flea Plant, Mother of Thousands)
 
An easily grown (biennial) Kalanchoe for a sunny window ledge. Small plantlets (bulbils) form on the serrated leaf margins, drop off, and grow in any nearby plant pot. A large plant produces a panicle of pink flowers, which should be cut off after the flower is finished or the plant will die.

Kalanchoe daigremontiana is native to South-West Madagascar and naturalised elsewhere. It has the potential to become an invasive weed in a frost-free climate and contains bufadienolide cardiac glycosides which can cause losses of grazing livestock.

Kalanchoe delagoensis  Ecklon & Zeyher 1837
Syn. K. tubiflora Hamet 1912 (Mother of Thousands)
 
An almost indestructible (biennial) Kalanchoe that propagates by vegetatively forming plantlets (bulbils) on the leaf tips. These drop off and root in any nearby plant pot, so it is almost impossible to lose the clone. This plant grows up to 5 ft tall and produces an attractive cluster of pink flowers at the top of its stem. A tall plant needs staking or it is liable to flop over.

Kalanchoe delagoensis is native to Southern Madagascar and naturalised elsewhere. It has the potential to become an invasive weed in a frost-free climate and contains bufadienolide cardiac glycosides which can cause losses of grazing livestock.

Kalanchoe luciae  Hamet 1908 (Flapjack Plant)
A choice biennial plant for a sunny position in a frost-free climate. In the shade, the leaves will go a boring green. This species tends to colour up naturally in full sun, but there is a particularly red cultivar called "Red Flapjack". The inflorescence is a dense panicle of yellowish-green flowers.
Native to Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa and Swaziland.
 
The rather similarly shaped Kalanchoe thrysiflora has glaucous green leaves with a farinose coating, but the two species are often confused in the horticultural trade.

Kalanchoe cv. mirabilis
 
One of many attractive selected forms and hybrids with bell-like flowers, often given bell-related cultivar names such as "Mission Bells", "Bells Dream" etc.

Kalanchoe rhombopilosa  Mannoni & Boiteau 1947
This small succulent species has sprawling thick woody stems bearing fan-shaped green leaves with undulate margins and a white farinose coating. The leaves may have spots and tend to become bronzed in strong light. A narrow panicle of yellowish flowers is produced in the Spring, but flowering is infrequent.
 
Native to South-West Madagascar. Leaves fall off but root easily. The leaves are quite variable and various selected cultivars are in circulation.

Kalanchoe rotundifolia  Haworth 1825
This plant has slender, erect stems growing 3ft or more tall, bearing rounded blue-green leaves. The inflorescence is a small cluster of orange-red flowers.
 
Widespread in Africa including Zimbabwe and South Africa. This species is traditionally used by the Zulu in a charm to confer invisibility. It is poisonous to livestock.

Kalanchoe schimperiana  Richard 1847
The stems and leaves of this perennial shrublet are pubescent. A cluster of greenish-white flowers is produced at the growing point.
 
Native to Ethiopia and Eastern Tanzania.

Kalanchoe sp.  
A prolific plant producing a panicle of bright yellow flowers.