Excotic Flora and Canarian Flora : Crassulaceae - Genus Monanthes

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