English: Flaming Katy; Christmas kalanchoe; Florist kalanchoe;
Madagascar widow’s-thrill.
Name: Kalanchoe from Chinese 'Kalanchauhuy'.
Genus: ± 140 species.
Region:
Madagascar.
Habitat: relatively cool plateaus; humus soil.
Ecology: generally disease-free; can be damaged by Otiorhynchus sulcatus, mealybugs.
Use: poisonous if ingested; commonly cultivated
BotanyHerb, shrub; glabrous, bushy; evergreen; perennial; succulent; 30 to 45 cm tall, 10 to 50 cm wide; round habit and a moderate plant density; growth slowly.
Leaves: green, all year round; shiny, glossy; scallop-edged; ovate; opposite, subopposite; simple; crenate margins; oblong shape; venetian absent or very hard to see; 5 to 10 cm long.
Flowers: petals 4, from dark red and pink to oranges, golds and whites; ovary is tetracarpellary, apocarpous; stamens 4, epipetalous; flowers in late autumn to early winter.
Inflorescence: by peduncles, higher up than the leaves; terminal.