Kalanchoe beharensis
| Kalanchoe beharensis | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| (unranked): | Angiosperms |
| (unranked): | Eudicots |
| (unranked): | Core eudicots |
| Order: | Saxifragales |
| Family: | Crassulaceae |
| Genus: | Kalanchoe |
| Species: | K. beharensis |
| Binomial name | |
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Kalanchoe beharensis Drake |
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Kalanchoe beharensis (commonly known as elephant's ear kalanchoe, felt bush, or feltbush) is a plant species in the succulent genus Kalanchoe, and the family Crassulaceae. Kalanchoe beharensis is native to Madagascar.
K. beharensis is an evergreen shrub, 3–5 ft (1–2 m) tall. The stem is about 1.5 m (4.9 ft) long, and is slender and knotted. Leaves are olivaceous in color, triangular-lanceolate shaped, decussately arranged with leaf margins that are doubly crenate. Each leaf is about 10 cm (4 in) long and 5–10 cm (2–4 in) wide. The bottoms of the leaves are glabrous and they are covered with a woolly hair towards the apex. The leaf hairs are brown, and tips of the teeth are darker. The hairs on the stem, younger leaves, and petioles are white. A sign of older leaves is concavity on the upper surface. Inflorescences are 50–60 cm (20–24 in) high, forming a branched corymb. Flowers are on short pedicels (stalks). The calyx is 7 mm long with lobes that are oblong and acuminate. The corolla tube is urn shaped and 7 mm long. Blooming occurs from spring to summer, and flowers are small and yellowish. The type of trichome present on the leaves of Kalanchoe, vary among the different species. The different types of trichomes are an indicator of adaptation to a particular environment. On the leaf blade of the beharensis species there are tichomes of the non glandular, bushy three-branched type. This type of trichome is dead with evidence of tannin. Beharensis trichomes are also characterized by striped cuticular ornamentation on their surface. Glandular trichomes are also present on beharensis species leaves, with more on petioles than on leaf blades, and more on the top of the leaf as opposed to the bottom.
The Kalanchoe genus may reproduce asexually by producing plantlets on leaf margins, which when distributed on a suitable substrate will form new plants. Plantlet-forming species fall under two categories. The first category is induced plantlet-forming species that produce plantlets under stress. The second plantlet-forming species is constitutive plantlet-forming species that spontaneously forms plantlets. Induced plantlet-forming species have the LEC1 gene that allows them to produce seeds, whereas the constitutive plantlet-forming species have a defective LEC1 gene and cannot produce seeds. The beharensis species produces seeds as well as the plantlets.
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