Plant of the Week 03/24/2003: Mother-of-thousands (Kalanchoe daigremontiana)

Plant of the Week 03/24/2003

Mother-of-thousands (Kalanchoe daigremontiana)

Kalanchoe daigremontiana Raymond-Hamet & H. Perrier

Photographed by: Chelsie Vandaveer
Credits: Kalanchoe gift from Megan Briody
Other Information: Canon AE1, Fuji SuperHQ 100

Mother-of-thousands (Kalanchoe daigremontiana Hamet & Perrier) is native to southwest Madagascar. This odd succulent is a member of the Crassulaceae, the stonecrop family. Mother-of-thousands blooms in late winter. The inflorescence is a terminal (at the top of the plant) cyme-like panicle. Seen from above, which is usual since the plant only grows two to three feet, the inflorescence is not interesting. The pinkish-orange flowers hang from the panicle; the delicate beauty can only be appreciated by looking under the inflorescence.

Kalanchoe [ka lank' o ee] photosynthesize through a process called Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM). The process allows the plant to continue photosynthesizing during drought. It is a typical of plants growing in water-stressed environments.

CAM plants open their stomata at night when temperatures are lower and humidity higher. The plant stores the carbon dioxide as malic acid in the vacuoles of its cells. The plant manufactures sugar from the CO2 during the day when it is gaining energy from sunlight. When water resources are abundant, CAM plants will open their stomata during the day. This allows CAM plants to put on as much growth as possible before a dry season.

Mother-of-thousands have mottled serrate leaves, borne in pairs along the stem. The photographed plant, though, has several nodes below the inflorescence with three leaves instead of two. The common name refers to the plant's vivipary; it produces adventitious plantlets in the notches along the leaf edges. When each plantlet can survive on its own, it will drop from the parent.