Succulent plants

Author: / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-08-01
Features:
(III) Apocynaceae, a dicotyledonous plant family with over 2,800 species. Mostly vines or shrubs, many are succulent plants. Simple leaves, except for the genus Stapelia, most succulent plants have early-falling leaves. Flowers are 5-lobed and emit a foul odor, pollen grains often stick together in clumps. Fruits are single follicles, seeds have hairs at the tip. Widely distributed in the tropical regions of the Eastern Hemisphere.
1. Genus Brahystekma: Features spherical or spindle-shaped tubers and early-falling slender branches, creeping, with variable leaf shapes. Flowers are solitary or clustered, with circular corollas, lobes fully separated or fused at the tip. Found in South Africa and tropical Africa.
2. Genus Caralluma: Clustering, creeping stems with 4–5 ridges, small and early-falling leaves. Bell-shaped flowers with two whorls, short triangular lobes, outer whorl separate or fused, inner whorl fused with the outer whorl. The genus has about 130 species, distributed in North Africa, East Africa, and the Arabian region.
3. Genus Cropegia: The genus has about 170 species, but only over 50 are cultivated as succulents. Found in South Africa and the Canary Islands. Erect or creeping stems with round or spindle-shaped tubers. Corolla lobes are fused at a spherical base, with tips sticking together in a lantern shape.
4. Genus Dischidia: Typically epiphytic, with small waxy leaves, creeping stems, and sometimes hollow, bottle-shaped leaves where ants live and small plants can grow for reproduction. Found in India and Australia. Only 3 species are listed as succulents, including the famous ornamental plant, Haworthia.
5. Genus Duvalia: About 19 species, found in South Africa. Low and thick stems with 4–6 ridges, with sparse teeth on the ridge edges. Flowers are located on new stems, solitary or clustered on short pedicels, some with very prominent pipe-shaped epicalyces.
6. Genus Echidnopsis: About 30 species, found in tropical Africa and the Arabian region. Stems are 15–30 cm tall, with 6–20 ridges, which are further divided into hexagonal tubercles. Flowers are at the stem tip, 2–clustered, inner lobes reflexed.
7. Genus Hoodia: Stems are about 1 m tall, mostly erect, with many ridges, divided into conical small tubercles, with hard teeth at the tips. Flowers are at the stem tip, cup-shaped, with small lobes. About 20 species are found in southwestern Africa.
8. Genus Hoya: Epiphytic plants with vine-like stems, leaves of varying sizes, opposite, succulent or evergreen leathery, often waxy. Flowers are clustered in corymbs, with fleshy corollas and waxy lobes. The genus has over 200 species, found in Asia and Oceania. Only a few thick-leaved species are cultivated as succulents.
9. Genus Huernia: Low and creeping type, stems less than 15 cm tall, with 4–6 ridges, with wavy edges and teeth. Flowers are at the base of new stems, with a bell-shaped corolla and notches at the upper part of the lobes. About 60 species are distributed in East Africa, South Africa, and the Arabian region. Major representative species include Huernia and Adenium.
10. Genus Sarcostemma: Branching, shrub-like plants with flexible stems, often hanging or lying horizontally. Contain white latex. Flowers are clustered, with small and prominent lobes. Mainly distributed in Africa, with one species in Australia.
11. Genus Stapelia (also known as Genus Orbea): About 100 species, distributed in South Africa and tropical Africa. Erect stems are relatively robust, with 4–5 ridges, with straight or slightly toothed edges. Flowers are at the base of new stems, with long pedicels, flat and large corollas, with densely hairy edges. The genus has classification changes, with some species like Stapelia variegata and Stapelia veryucola, which have finer stems, smaller flowers, and toothed ridges, moved to the genus Orbea.
12. Genus Tavaresia: Only 5 species, found in southern Africa. Low, clumping plants with 6–12 ridges, succulent and soft, with regularly arranged tooth-like projections at the ridge edges, each with 3 spines at the tip. Flowers are at the stem base, with short pedicels, long funnel-shaped, reflexed lobes, with various colors and small tubercles on the ventral surface, and a ring-shaped corona with silky hairs.
13. Genus Trichocaulon: Cylindrical stems, solitary or slightly branched, some species have spherical, succulent, and soft young plants with many ridges, divided into dense small tubercles. Tubercles are hemispherical or conical, with stiff hairs at the tip. Small flowers are in the middle of tubercles near the stem tip, with flat, shallow dish-shaped corollas, 5-deeply lobed. About 35 species are distributed in South Africa, Somalia, and Madagascar. The original representative species, Trichocaulon fasciculatum, is now proposed to be separated into a new genus, with the genus name accordingly changed.
(IV) Bromeliaceae, a monocotyledonous plant family with a wide variety of species, but only a few are succulents, with over 10 species in 5 genera. Basal leaves are arranged in a rosette, narrow and leathery, with short spines at the edge and a sheath at the base. Spike-like inflorescences with colorful bracts.
1. Genus Dyckia: Rosette leaves directly attached to a thick rhizome, with hard leaves and very dense small serrated spines at the edge. Tall inflorescences, easily produce seeds. Found in South America.
2. Genus Hechtia: No stem or short stem, gray or reddish-brown, narrow leaves arranged in a rosette, with spines at the edge. Found in Mexico and southern United States. The famous bromeliad succulent, Haworthia, belongs to this genus.
3. Genus Puya: Large plants native to South America. No stem or long stem, rough leaves with spines or serrated edges, arranged in a rosette. When flowering, the inflorescence can reach about 10 m tall, very spectacular, suitable for specialized botanical gardens or cultivation demonstration areas.
(V) Commelinaceae, a monocotyledonous herbaceous plant family. Joints on stems, alternate leaves with sheaths. Inflorescences are terminal or axillary, flowers are usually blue. Succulents are only found in 4 genera. Only the following two genera are commonly cultivated:
1. Genus Cyanotis: Plants with tubers, creeping stems, and lanceolate succulent leaves with fringed edges. Found in tropical Africa and Asia.
2. Genus Tranotis: Fibrous roots or tubers, jointed creeping stems, leaves often hairy. Found in the Americas.
(VI) Asteraceae, a dicotyledonous plant family with tens of thousands of species, but only a small portion are succulents. Commonly cultivated genera include Senecio and Orostachys. Mainly distributed in Africa.