Kalanchoe

Morphological Summary

Kalanchoe Adans. is a genus of succulent plants in the family Crassulaceae, comprising approximately 176 accepted species of shrubs, subshrubs, and perennial or biennial herbs. The leaves are fleshy, opposite, and highly variable in shape — ranging from flat and spatulate to cylindrical or strongly crenate — often coated with a waxy bloom or dense pubescence. Flowers are tubular and four-merous, arranged in cymose or thyrsoid terminal inflorescences in colors ranging from white and yellow to deep red and orange. The genus is particularly notable for the ability of many species in the subgenus Bryophyllum to produce vegetative propagules (adventitious plantlets) along leaf margins, a trait unique among flowering plants.