Aeonium

<i>Aeonium</i>

Aeonium

Genus of succulents

Quick Facts Aeonium, Scientific classification ...

Aeonium, the tree houseleeks, is a genus of about 35 species of succulent, subtropical plants of the family Crassulaceae. Many species are popular in horticulture. The genus name comes from the ancient Greek αἰώνιος / aiōnios (ageless).[1] While most of them are native to the Canary Islands, some are found in Madeira, Cape Verde, Morocco, in East Africa (Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya) and Yemen.

Description

The succulent leaves are typically arranged on a basal stem, in a dense, spreading rosette. A feature which distinguishes this genus from many of its relatives is the manner in which the flowers bear free petals, and are divided into 6 or 12 sections. Each rosette produces a central inflorescence only once, and then dies back (though it will usually branch or offset to produce ensuing rosettes).

Low-growing Aeonium species are A. tabuliforme and A. smithii; large species include A. arboreum and A. valverdense. They are related to the genera Sempervivum, Aichryson and Monanthes, as can be seen by their similar flower and inflorescences. Recently,[when?] the genus Greenovia has been placed within Aeonium.[citation needed]

Species and distribution

All but two species are native to at least one of three different Macaronesian archipelagos (the Canary Islands, Madeira, or Cape Verde) Most aeoniums are from the Canary Islands,[2][3] The only species not native to these three Macaronesian island groups (Aeonium stuessyi and Aeonium leucoblepharum) are found in Ethiopia, Kenya and Tanzania; and Ethiopia, Kenya, Sudan, Uganda and Yemen, respectively. Aeonium arboreum is native to both the Canary Islands and Morocco.

Species accepted by Plants of the World Online as of April 2023:[4]

More information Species, Distribution ...

Hybrids

Much hybridising has been done, resulting in several cultivars of mixed or unknown parentage. The following species and cultivars have gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit:-

  • Aeonium tabuliforme[5]
  • Aeonium haworthii[6]
  • Aeonium haworthii 'Variegatum'[7]
  • Aeonium 'Blushing Beauty'[8]
  • Aeonium 'Sunburst'[9]
  • Aeonium 'Zwartkop'[10]

Hybridising between Aeonium species or cultivars and other Crassulaeceae species or cultivars has produced intergeneric crosses:

Some species have been introduced in California.[13]

UK national collections of aeoniums are held by Mellie Lewis at Clun in Shropshire[14] and by Inverewe at Poolewe, Wester Ross in Scotland.[15]

Images

  • Aeonium arboreum 'Atropurpureum'
  • Aeonium aureum
  • Aeonium castello-paivae
  • Aeonium decorum
  • Aeonium lindleyi
  • Aeonium nobile
  • Aeonium simsii
  • Aeonium smithii
  • Aeonium tabuliforme
  • Aeonium tabuliforme bearing inflorescence
  • Detail of Aeonium tabuliforme flower
  • Aeonium tabuliforme × arboreum 'Zwartkop'
  • Aeonium undulatum
  • Aeonium valverdense

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Aeonium.
Wikispecies has information related to Aeonium.
  1. [1]
    Eggli, U.; Newton, L.E. (2004). Etymological Dictionary of Succulent Plant Names. Springer Berlin Heidelberg. p. 3. ISBN 978-3-540-00489-9. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  2. [2]
    Bramwell, D.; Bramwell, Z. (2001). Wild flowers of the Canary Islands. Madrid, Spain: Editorial Rueda. ISBN 84-7207-129-4.
  3. [3]
    "International Crassulaceae Network: Aeonium". International Crassulaceae Network. Retrieved 19 February 2017.
  4. [4]
    "Aeonium Webb & Berthel". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. 2023. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
  5. [5]
    "Aeonium tabuliforme". RHS. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  6. [6]
    "Aeonium haworthii". RHS. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  7. [7]
    "Aeonium haworthii 'Variegatum'". RHS. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  8. [8]
    "Aeonium 'Blushing Beauty'". RHS. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  9. [9]
    "Aeonium 'Sunburst'". RHS. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  10. [10]
    "Aeonium 'Zwartkop'". RHS. Retrieved 27 February 2020.
  11. [11]
    "Graham Rice's new plants blog: Super succulent is Chelsea Plant of the Year star / RHS Gardening". www.rhs.org.uk. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
  12. [12]
    "The RHS Chelsea Flower Show Plant of the Year / RHS Gardening". www.rhs.org.uk. Retrieved 2022-06-20.
  13. [13]
    "Aeonium in Flora of North America @ efloras.org". www.efloras.org. Retrieved 2016-10-15.
  14. [14]
    "Join Plant Heritage | Conserving the diversity of garden plants". www.plantheritage.org.uk.
  15. [15]
    Scotland, National Trust for (April 22, 2022). "A glimpse into plant evolution through…". National Trust for Scotland.
  • R. Nyffeler, "Aeonium", in Urs Eggli, ed. Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants: Crassulaceae (Springer, 2003) ISBN 3-540-41965-9
  • M. Cristini, "The Genus Aeonium" (Rome, 2022) ISBN 978-88-901345-6-2
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