Life would succ without succulents

Crassula ovata ‘Gollum’ Today’s post is about Crassula ovata ‘Gollum’ , commonly known as the Jade plant gollum . When I bought this plant, I had no idea what it was, so I googled ‘succulent that looks like shrek ears’…and guess what? Crassula ovata was the first answer that came up. So, I think it should also be called ‘ shrek plant ’. This is my second post on a Crassula, so for information about the genus/naming click here . Crassula ovata ‘Gollum’ is closely related to Crassula ovata agm known as the ‘friendship tree’ or ‘jade plant’ which I will do a blog post about in the future. Some people say Crassula ovata are lucky plants, and in my opinion, you can never have too much good luck, so I am a fan. What I love about Crassula ovata ‘Gollum’ is its weird tubular leaves, that in places appear to be wearing lipstick.  There is also Crassula ovata ‘Hobbit’ which is very similar to Crassula ovata ‘Gollum’ , however the leaves are less ‘suction cap’ like...

Mammillaria elongata For post number 7, I have the magnificent Mammillaria elongata , commonly called the ‘Ladyfinger cactus’. This is a truly beautiful cactus, with tons of character (and spikes!). Mammillaria derives from the word nipple or teat! Carl Linnaeus named this genus in 1753 after the tubercles (round like nodules) sometimes found on these cacti. Carl was somewhat of an expert on naming things and is often called the ‘father of modern taxonomy’ (it was him who grouped humans with apes), so I begrudgingly accept his nipple naming of this un-nipple like plant. The name Mammillaria elongata  makes slightly more sense knowing that ‘elongata’ means ‘longer’ or ‘elongated’. Mammillaria elongata , will forever be called the elongated nipple to me. The Mammillaria genus contains around 200 species of cactus, varying greatly from single stems to clumps, balls to columns, with stiff to hairy spines. I picked my Mammillaria elongata  from my local ...

Cereus validus Today I am going to look at a cactus, the fabulous Cereus validus . Cereus validus is sometimes named Cereus forbesii or Cereus haneanus . Cactus naming history is full of renaming and reclassification, largely a result of botanists, horticulturalists and scientists disagreeing. I tend to choose the cactus name that I prefer or see most commonly to label my plants.   Cereus is a genus of cacti containing around 33 species. Cereus are desert cacti from South America, that tend to look like long columns. The word ‘cereus’ derives from the Latin word for ‘candle’, which is fitting, as these cacti look like long thin candles. The origin of the word ‘cereus’ is more interesting than this though, as it is derived from the Greek name Selene, a Greek moon goddess. Selene was thought to drive her moon chariot across the heavens. Cereus are sometimes called ‘nightblooming’ cacti, as they bloom after dark, which is cool, and explains the link to the ...

Crassula muscosa For todays post, I am looking at the succulent Crassula muscosa , also known as the ‘watch chain’, ‘zipper plant’ and ‘lizards’ tail’. Sometimes you will see Crassula muscosa named Crassula lycopodioides , which is reference to its similarity to the genus Lycopodium (the clubmosses). Crassula is a genus containing 200 species. Crassula is derived from the Latin for thick and refers to the thickening of this genus’ leaves. Muscosa is Latin for ‘mossy’. So, in combination Crassula muscosa means ‘thick moss’, which kind of fits with this plant. Crassula muscosa looks almost aquatic and reminds me of seaweed or coral. It has numerous stems with tightly packed green leaves. The leaves look like a chain, hence how it got its common name of ‘watch chain’ succulent. Crassula muscosa is found in South Africa and is found in humid areas. I picked up my Crassula muscosa in a lucky dip of succulents online. It cost around £2.50. It came unlabelled, ...

Aristaloe aristata Post number 4: back to succulents with Aristaloe aristata , or the ‘lace aloe’. Aristaloe aristata  used to be called Aloe aristata , until phylogenetic studies showed it is not an Aloe. Aristaloe aristata still appears under the name  Aloe aristata , and in fact it is labelled as this in some of my books- so be warned! Aloe is a huge genus, with over 500 species. Aloe normally have a rosette of leaves that are thick and fleshy. The name Aloe is a derivative of the Arabic word ‘alloeh’, which means shining bitter substance, which is accurate since Aloe leaves have a bitter sap. Studies have shown that Aristaloe aristata  is closely related to the Atroloba and Haworthia genus’ and not the Aloe genus. As a result, a new genus ‘Aristaloe’ was created to represent its uniqueness. Aristaloe aristata is the only species in the Aristaloe genus! So it is really unique! Aristata means bristly or awned and refers to the  Aristalo...

Ferocactus fordii (subspecies: borealis). Post number 3, and the 1 st cacti entry: Ferocactus fordii . The genus Ferocactus contains roughly 30 species of barrel shaped cacti. A cool fact about the Ferocactus genus is that the inner pulp has traditionally been eaten and even used to make ‘barrel cactus candy’ (though I do not recommend or condone eating these cuties). Cactus is a derivative of the Greek word ‘Kaktos’, which loosely means ‘spiny plant’. ‘Fero’ derives from ‘ferox’ which means ‘fierce’. Therefore, the genus name ‘Ferocactus’ means ‘fierce spiny plant’, which is obviously awesome! I think technically my plant is the subspecies variation borealis , which means northern, most likely a reference to where it was found. It has smaller spines than the true species. The common name is Ford barrel cactus, but I prefer my version: fierce spiny northern barrel! Ferocactus fordii is a desert dweller found in South United States and Mexico. It has long red ...

Sanseviera cylindrica For post number 2, I have chosen the succulent  Sanseviera cylindrica . The Sanseviera genus contains approximately 70 species, typically sharing mottled long spear shaped leaves. The Sanseviera genus has a pretty cool naming story. It was named after Raimondo di Sangroan, an Italian Prince who was also an inventor, writer, scientist and alchemist (amongst other occupations). Raimondo invented a waterproof cape for the King of Naples, colour fireworks and an ‘eternal flame’ as well as a load of other crazy things (seriously, google this guy). I am not sure why the Swedish botanist (Carl Peter Thunburg) named the genus after Raimondo, but I 100% approve. The Sanseviera genus contains Sanseviera trifasciata, known as ‘Mother-in law’s tongue’, which is a pretty well-known succulent. Anyway, I digress. Back to  Sanseviera cylindrica , commonly named the ‘African spear plant’, ‘skyline spear sansevieria’ or ‘cylindrical snake plant’....

Species: Euphorbia glubosa For my first post, I have chosen to share my beautiful Euphorbia globosa .  I am going to begin by going on a brief tangent about plant naming (because it’s cool).  A plants scientific name has two parts:  The genus name.    The genus name describes a group of plants that share common characteristics (and usually a common ancestor). The specific name. The specific name is what identifies the individual species. So in the case of the species Euphorbia globuse : Euphorbia is the genus, which contains approx. 2,100 species, all sharing a milky sap.   Globose is the specific name, which when combined with Euphorbia identifies the species. The Euphorbia genus was named after Euphorbus, a Greek physician to king Juba II, who discovered a euphorbia plant in the Atlas Mountains that had medical properties and used it as a laxative! ‘Globose’ is derived from the Latin ‘globosus’, which means a ball, spher...