Kalanchoe blossfeldiana/Kalanchoe

This flowering beauty from the wonderful island of Madagascar is a popular houseplant. A succulent that flowers almost year-round, Kalanchoe now comes in many colours. It grows well indoor and under semi-shade outdoors. It won’t tolerate water-logged soils so water it after carefully testing the soil moisture.

The scientific name of this flowering plant has two distinct roots. The generic one is Chinese while the species name has a German origin. The name blossfeldiana is an aim to pay a tribute to the German botanist and horticulturist Robert Blossfeld. However, the Chinese origin of the first name is somewhat of a mystery. It is for sure derived from the word ‘Kalanchauhuy’ but what does Kalanchauhuy itself mean? Nobody knows for sure it is the Chinese name of exactly which species! For those exploring mysteries of binomial nomenclature, this is perhaps a challenge 😊