Succulent Sunday: Mammillaria hernandezii,

These small hemispheres... these tiny Mexico cacti, Mammillaria hernandezii... these jewels of the Oaxacan desert -- imagine them in full, purple bloom. Imagine violet flowers rising, expanding until they rival the whole mother plant. Forget the flowers... look at the spines! arrayed like dozens of harmless, strange, multi-legged creatures which have been killed, bleached, and hot-glued upside-down on deep-green mounds.

Mammillaria hernandezii,  strange desert jewel

Succulent Sunday: Plants That Look Like Pebbles

Pachyphytum oviferum (left) and Graptopetalum amethystinum 

Look at these turquoise and pink pastels! These soft colors belong to a pair of living confectionary, species of Graptopetalum and Pachyphytum, which are members of Crassulaceae or the Stonecrop Family. They look almost edible, but these plants are treats for the eyes, not the mouth. Their thick leaves and soft stems evolved to store moisture as a hedge against drought and high daytime temperatures in their native Mexico. Part of the charm of these plants is the powdery (in botany, pruinose) coating on the leaves, which unfortunately is also easily smudged -- shown by the fingerprints on this G amethystinum.

Besides Pachyphytum and Graptopetalum, Mexico has several more genera of succulents which are all closely related, and are all capable of interbreeding or hybridizing: Echeveria, Sedum, and Cremnophila. Similar but more distant relatives include the common "Jade Plant", Crassula ovata, originally from South Africa and grown as a houseplant worldwide. 

MadProfessah says, "I just like them because they're pretty."

[This is the first guest post by Sentient Meat, known elsewhere on The Mad Professah Lectures as "The Other Half".]

Succulent Sunday: Crassula tecta

Crassula tecta

Succulent Sunday: X Sedeveria 'Harry Butterfield'

X Sedeveria 'Harry Butterfield'

(The reason for the strange genus designation, X Sedeveria, is that this is a transgeneric [cross-genus] hybrid between the genus Sedum and Echeveria.)  

This hybrid [in the photo] is just starting to show its potential to grow into long chains which tip over and hang like an animal's tail. This is a cross between two classic Mexico members of the stonecrop family (Crassulaceae), Sedum morganianum andEcheveria derenbergii. It's nicknamed "Super Burro Tail" because it's fatter and more robust than its hybrid parent nicknamed "Burro Tail", Sedum morganianum.

Succulent Sunday: Cotyledon campanulata

Cotyledon campanulata

By popular demand, Succulent Sunday returns! Here's some information on this gorgeous specimen:

Tiny hairs glisten on pale-green fingers, each tipped with a red crease -- Cotyledon campanulata from Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Tall flower stems shoot up in late spring from which yellow flowers hang like little bells, except the petals are splayed wide open (unlike its Cotyledon cousins).

From a recent paper, "The only other species possessing cylindrical to urceolate shaped flowers, C. campanulata, is sister to a grouping of four species (C. velutina, C. woodii, C. barbeyi, and two varieties of C. orbiculata) that all share an erect growth form. Cotyledon campanulata is a decumbent, dwarf shrub (up to 20 cm) with yellow flowers that, like C. cuneata, are viscid on the outside of the corolla. However, C. campanulata has smaller flowers and is much more narrowly distributed, present only in a small region of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa."

Hat/tip to Sentient Meat

Succulent Sunday: Mammillaria Magnimamma

mammillaria magnimamma

Mammillaria magnimamma, also known as "Mexican pincushion" is actually a cactus. This is a flowering specimen on my deck.

This is what The Other Half (who is the succulent expert in the family) says about this plant:

To get a better feel for this native of Mexico (near Mexico City), notice the spines borne on tubercles typical of genusMammillaria, named for its mammillae or nipple-shaped protuberances. The tubercles are green with a characteristic pink blush, and in between them, you can observe classic tufts of white fuzz. Flower color varies in M. magnimamma -- this individual shows blooms in a typical magenta shade.

I just think it looks purty.

Succulent Sunday: Parodia magnifica

Parodia magnifica

For Succulent Sunday this week, we have a flowering specimen of Parodia magnifica (also known as Notocactus magnificus). It has a very beautiful, bright yellow flower.

Succulent Sunday: Astrophytum Capricorne

A flowering example of astrophytum capricorne.

Succulent Sunday: Protea Cynaroides

While we were on a ridiculously long hike in Table Mountain National Park in Cape Town, the other half and I ran into these amazing specimens of King Protea a.k.a. Protea Cynaroides, the National Flower of South Africa. When fully open the flowers are between 6-8 inches in circumference. Truly astounding to behold.

South Africa has thousands of species of flora and fauna which are found nowhere else in the world. In fact, Table Mountain National Park has more biodiversity than the entire continent of North America!