Excotic Flora and Canarian Flora

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

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)