Excotic Flora and Canarian Flora : 2013

Crassulaceae - Genus Monanthes - Monanthes brachycaulon

Monanthes brachycaulon (Webb & Berth.) Lowe

Endemic from the islands Tenerife and Gran Canaria.

This plant has a very small single rosette, mostly with a thickened rootstock, bulb-like or cylindrical. It is distinguished at all periods of growth by his much broader leaves which are much fewer in number (about 20 to a rosette instead of two to four times as many by other species.

Leaves loosely rosulated, oblanceolate-spathulate, bluntly pointed at apex, attenuate and subpetiolate at base, glabrous, papillose, very fleshy, flat or concave on face, very convex on back, 1,5 to 2cm long, 5mm broad, 2,5mm thick, green mottled with purple, with a purple midrib and purple stain at base. Flowering branches lateral, from the axils of the lower leaves, 4 to 10 cm long. Raceme 5- to 7- (10) flowered.

Flowering as from half March until mid June .

Habitat: locally abundant on Tenerife and Gran Canaria in crevices of rocks and walls. From sea level up to +/- 2100 meter.

His synonyms : Petrophyes brachycaulon - Sempervivum bulbosum - Sempervivum brachycaulon - Sempervivum Louwei Pavia - Petrophyes brachycladon .

Hybrids exist : M. brachycaulon X polyphylla ; M. brachycaulon X pallens and M. brachycaulon X laxiflora.

Formas have been described but never seen by me : M. brachycaulon fa ramosa and M. brachycaulon fa fasciata

Crassulaceae - Genus Monanthes - Monanthes niphophila

Crassulaceae - Genus Monanthes - Monanthes praegeri

Crassulaceae - Genus Monanthes - Monanthes anagensis

Crassulaceae - Genus Monanthes - Monanthes laxiflora

Monanthes laxiflora (DC.) Bolle

Plant with a lot of synonyms !!!

Sedum laxiflorum - Petrophyes agriostaphis - Sempervivum agriostaphis - Monanthes agriostaphis - Sempervivum agriostaphis and Monanthes microbotrys.

A very variable plant, erect and tufted or dwarf and creeping, or hanging in stresses, 30cm long, on cliffs. The leaves up to 25mm long, 15mm broad and 10mm thick, are varying from almost globular to lanceolate, colour from deep green to purple/red, or in the drought period or heavy sun exposition nearly white to silvery. The inflorescence from tall and multiple flowered to very small and few flowered. The flowers also vary in size and colour from greenish-yellow to greenish-purple up to brown-red.

It is quite often seen in cultivation. The name refers to its lax inflorescence.

Flowering from beginning March until end of May. In culture, depending of location, flowering from May until end of July.

Location : Tenerife, Gran Canaria, La Gomera, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote. Until now never seen on the two most western islands El Hierro and La Palma. Mostly growing on rocks and roofs from nearly see level up to 1800 meter.

Hybridisation with different other members of this genus with whom they grow together.

Very close to the Monanthes anagensis with which it often grows together and so possible hybridisation (region Chamorga)

Monanthes laxiflora - fa rubra

Monanthes laxiflora fa rubra

Monanthes laxiflora

Monanthes laxiflora - red and yellow flowers on one plant

Monanthes laxiflora

Monanthes laxiflora and Mon. polyphylla (hybridisation!!)

Monanthes laxiflora fa rubra

Monanthes laxiflora

Monanthes laxiflora fa rubra

Monanthes laxiflora

Monanthes laxiflora fa rubra

Monanthes laxiflora wax cover on leaves

Crassulaceae - Genus Monanthes - Monanthes adenoscepes

Crassulaceae - Genus Monanthes - Monanthes minima

Crassulaceae - Genus Monanthes - Monanthes wildpretii

Crassulaceae - Genus Monanthes - Monanthes icterica

Monanthes icterica (Webb & Berth.) Christ.

Endemic to the two islands of Tenerife and La Gomera, and quit difficult to find.

I was looking since more than 5 years after tinny plant until I found this jewel on the Roque del Conde in the South of Tenerife. Once you know the habitat it prefers (100/1850meter) you can find this little plant nearly all over the island of Tenerife. As this dwarf therophyte succulent flowers in March/May it is just in that period I'm always on Tenerife (April/May and 1/2 Sept./October). You see as it is an annual plant, and quit often growing hidden between larger vegetation, in the beginning growing period it is very difficult to discover only his flowers betrays his presence.

Synonym to this plant are Petrophyes icterica and Aichrison mollii

Interesting as the only Monanthes which is not perennial. This minute annual appears in autumn, flowers in early spring, and has shed his seeds by end of the month of May.
In exposure the leaves are wholly black-purple on back.

Inflorescences 4-flowered with minute bracts; Flowers 6 parted. Scales reddish.

Monanthes icterica Barranco de Tejina

Monanthes icterica Ifonche

Monanthes icterica Roque del Conde

Crassulaceae - Genus Monanthes - Monanthes subcrassicaulis

Monanthes subcrassicaulis (Kuntze) Praeger

This is a very doubtful species. Praeger and Bramwell accept this as a real species there where Nyffeler considers it as a syn. of an on La Gomera growing Monanthes who should be the M. muralis.
On the first place the description of the Monanthes muralis those not fit to the Monanthes subcrassicaulis. The M. muralis is forming long branches pending alongside the rocky walls, the subcrassicaulis has very tinny rosettes on a very short creeping stem and this is growing on Tenerife an never seen elsewhere. If the two should have more resemblance and both should grow as well on Tenerife as on La Gomera then I should be ready to take it in consideration, but.....

I know only one finding place for this species and this is in the Teno Mountains near the place known as Cruz de Cilda near Masca.

For me the doubt should be faster coming from the of the Monanthes polyphylla who is nearly the same. Could be that our M. subcrassicaulis is crowing under very bad condition , and this is so, the adaption to this growing conditions gave difference in his appearance.

I let you make your conclusions having a look to added pics.

This is the site of the Monanthes subcrassicaulis

Monanthes subcrassicaulis

Crassulaceae - Genus Monanthes - Monanthes polyphylla

Monanthes polyphylla Haw.

Synonymes : Monanthes Monanthes Lindinger -

Sempervivum monanthes Aiton

Petrophyes polyphyllum Webb & Bert.

Characterized by its distinctly creeping habit. The plant forms a cushion or mat of many (mostly pinkish) very convex often shortly cylindrical very dense rosettes of equal size, on slender creeping stems. It was the first known of the genus Monanthes, and is still the most attractive in this genus. Inflorescence terminal, few flowered. Pedicels and calyx densely hairy.

Resemblances with the Monanthes subcrassicaulis and the Monanthes pallens var. silensis are remarkable and Buchard himself admits "Ihre systematik bleibt daher schwierig, und ist noch nicht abgeslossen"

As those species doesn't represent any commercial value no further studies has been done. So, you advised amateurs, here is interesting work to realise. For those who should be interested I could give a hand to realise you study material.

This is a delightful little plant, especially as seen on the Canary Islands filling rock-chinks with the clusters of pinkish-grey minute rosettes. In cultivation in our countries it loses this characteristic tinge, and remains green or purplish.

Distribution : Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Palma as from 100m up to 1500m. Flowering as from end of May until end of June.

The species described to be found on La Gomera should , in my opinion, be the Monanthes amydros. In some literature is mentioned that this species should have been found on the Island of El Hierro but no samples has been introduced in Bot. Gardens or herbarium, no exact description of the plant is accompanying this publications.
Hybridisation with the Monanthes laxiflora is often found in the Teno Mountains