Kalanchoe farinacea

January 17, 2010

Kalanchoe farinacea 01 It's a mythical island where dwelt the bird Phoenix. Middle of the Arabian Sea on one side following the Indian Ocean, on the other side over the adjacent canal is 240 km to the north and Somalia in even greater distances with Yemen, Socotra is located. For its remoteness is a third plant species endemic. They belong to a very nice kind of Kalanchoe farinacea. Among others, the beautiful endemic species belong to a wonderful Adenium obesum ssp socotranum, dragon tree Dracaena cinnabari and largest dorstenie Dorstenia gigas. The island belongs to the government of Yemen and our botanists have asked the Yemeni government at the turn of the millennium carried out botanical field work to save local forests. Socotra to live about 43 000 people, more than 10 000 goats and thousands of other domestic animals and drawing. And nowhere was no grass. Yet it is still Kalanchoe farinacea normally to be found.

Nature is a tall perennial, up to 30 cm high. The plant is completely bald. Stem rod is conical, erect, robust, and is only sparingly branching. The surface of the stem is white or green weeds, with scaly bark, in times of drought is peeling. Leaves cover the tops of stems. Are sessile, located. The leaves are very thick, obvejčitého to round shape with a length of 2-5, m5 cm and a width of 1.5 to 3.5 cm. The peak is rounded, the base is narrowed. Margins are integral. Leaf surface is covered with white to whitish green pomoučením, edges slightly pink. The flowers form a compact panicle umbellatum, a pomoučená. Flower stopečky are 12-14 mm long. Flowers are upright and spread. Calyx tube is about 1 mm long, the tails have a triangular shape, fleshy texture. The length of the skirt is 1-2 mm and width 1 - 1.5 mm. Crown has a bright red color. Crown tube is uniformly cylindrical, 10-15 mm long. Crown tails are elongated ovoid shape, the peaks are sharp and pointed. They are about 4 mm long, spread out. Rods are formed in the throat and upper crown pipes protrude outside. Anthers are broadly oblong. Nectaries have elongated linear shape, its rounded top and about 2 mm long. Karpel are narrowly oblong shape, with a length of 4-8 mm. Boom is about 4 mm.

Kalanchoe farinacea grow on low-lying plains, the cracks in the limestone bedrock. This species is similar in its appearance with Kalanchoe scapigera from Angola. Outside the locality of each species varies with the leaf bases, where u K. farinacea is narrowed (in parentheses K. scapigera - picked), the flowers form a panicle chocholíkovitá (corymb), May stopečky are 12-14 mm long (2-6 mm), The flower has a bright red color (dark yellow).

K. farinacea cultivation does not seem difficult, but it is important to realize in what kind of climatic conditions to grow. Socotra is a year-round "warm". The average annual temperature is 18 ° C. In the subtropical zone is the high levels of solar radiation. Plants respond well to direct sunlight as well as culture. Internodes are short, the leaves are much white bloom. Socotra to come monzumové rain twice a year. First at the end of autumn and the second wave is coming at the end of spring. Precipitation is almost exclusively torrential, the type of storm. While on the island monzumová two periods, but dominated by evaporation over precipitation, and so has the landscape of arid climate. Wettest places the granite peaks. Perennial plants require temperatures above 15 ° C, as the lightest position and regular watering, interspersed with a perfect proschnutím substrate. Therefore, neither type nepřirůstá quickly, but with good cultivation techniques seem to have small plants very attractive.