''Kalanchoe pinnata'', commonly known as cathedral bells, air plant, life plant, miracle leaf,
and Goethe plant is a
succulent plant
In botany, succulent plants, also known as succulents, are plants with parts that are thickened, fleshy, and engorged, usually to retain water in arid climates or soil conditions. The word ''succulent'' comes from the Latin word ''sucus'', meani ...
native to
Madagascar. It is a popular
houseplant and has become naturalized in tropical and subtropical areas. The species is distinctive for the profusion of miniature plantlets that form on the margins of its phylloclades, a trait it has in common with some other members of ''
Bryophyllum'' (now included in ''
Kalanchoe''
).
It is a succulent,
perennial plant, about tall, with fleshy cylindrical stems and young growth of a reddish tinge, which can be found in flower throughout most of the year. The specific epithet "pinnata" is the feminine form of the Latin adjective ''pinnatus'', meaning "winged, pinnate".
Description
The leaves of this species are thick, fleshy, elliptical in shape, curved, with a
crenate or serrated margin, often reddish. Simple at the base of the stem, the leaves are imparipinnate at the top, long, with three to five pairs of fleshy limb lobes.
The leaves are remarkable for their ability to produce
bulbils. At their margin, between the teeth, adventitious buds appear, which produce roots, stems and leaves. When the plantlets fall to the ground, they root and can become larger plants. This is a fairly common trait in the section ''Bryophyllum''. The fruits are
follicles (10–15 mm) which are found in the persistent calyx and corolla.
The terminal
inflorescence is a
panicle
A panicle is a much-branched inflorescence. (softcover ). Some authors distinguish it from a compound spike inflorescence, by requiring that the flowers (and fruit) be pedicellate (having a single stem per flower). The branches of a panicle are of ...
, with many pendent, red-orange flowers. The
calyx
Calyx or calyce (plural "calyces"), from the Latin ''calix'' which itself comes from the Ancient Greek ''κάλυξ'' (''kálux'') meaning "husk" or "pod", may refer to:
Biology
* Calyx (anatomy), collective name for several cup-like structures ...
is formed of a long tube, red at the base, veined with yellowish green (or green spotted with reddish brown), with four very small triangular lobes at the end. The tubular
corolla
Corolla may refer to:
*Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit
*Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name
* Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown
* ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...
, with a pronounced constriction separating the subspherical part of the
ovoid
An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one or ...
part, is terminated by four lobes which reaches in length. It is yellowish in color with red-purple streaks. The eight stamens, each about long, are in two whorls, welded on the corolla. The ovary has four
carpels, slightly fused together in the center, with slender styles.
Distribution
''Kalanchoe pinnata'' is native to
Madagascar.
[ and has become naturalized in tropical and subtropical areas, inhabiting warm and temperate climates from sea level to , occupying sites on rock in tropical evergreen and dry deciduous forests, as well as montane forests. It is found in parts of Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the West Indies, Bermuda, the Philippines, Macaronesia, the Mascarenes, Brazil, ]Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
, the Galapagos Islands, Melanesia, Polynesia, and Hawaii.
In many of these, such as Hawaii, it is regarded as an invasive species
An invasive species otherwise known as an alien is an introduced organism that becomes overpopulated and harms its new environment. Although most introduced species are neutral or beneficial with respect to other species, invasive species ad ...
.
Much of the reason for the widespread naturalization of this plant can be traced to its popularity as a garden plant.
Taxonomy and nomenclature
The writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, who was an amateur naturalist of some repute, was "passionately fond" of this plant and liked to give the baby plantlets as gifts to friends who visited his home. He also discussed his air plant at length in an essay titled ("History of my botanical studies").
The plant Kalanchoe pinnata was harvested by Pierre Sonnerat in Isle de France ( Mauritius) and communicated to Lamarck who described it in 1786 as the ''Cotyledon pinnata''. Subsequently, the Paris naturalist Christiaan Hendrik Persoon
Christiaan Hendrik Persoon (1 February 1761 – 16 November 1836) was a German mycologist who made additions to Linnaeus' mushroom taxonomy.
Early life
Persoon was born in South Africa at the Cape of Good Hope, the third child of an immig ...
reclassified it in the Kalanchoe (calling it ''Calanchoe pinnata 1805-1807'', with an orthographic variant). At the same time, in London, the botanist Richard Anthony Salisbury described the same plant from a specimen received from Bengal, under the name of ''Bryophyllum calycinum'', and at the same time created the new genus Bryophyllum.
It has several local names in its native Madagascar: ''falatanantsifaona'', ''malainana'', ''rendadiaka'', ''sodifafana'' and ''tsilafafa''. In the Philippines, it is known as or which is an adjective meaning 'astonishing' or 'remarkable'.
Cultivation
In temperate regions, ''Kalanchoe pinnata'' is grown as an indoor ornamental plant. Like most succulents, it cannot survive hard frost and will not thrive in environments in which the temperature drops below . It favours well-drained soil, the roots being otherwise susceptible to rot. In the tropics, ''K. pinnata'' is grown outdoors in gardens, from which it may escape to become naturalised - often as an invasive weed.
Toxicity and traditional medicine
In common with other species belonging to the Crassulaceae (including certain members of the genera ''Tylecodon
''Tylecodon'' is a genus of succulent plants in the family Crassulaceae, native to southern Africa.
Until the late 1970s all these plants were included in the genus ''Cotyledon'', but in 1978 Helmut Toelken of the Botanical Research Institute, ...
'', ''Cotyledon'' and ''Adromischus
''Adromischus'' is a genus of flowering plants. They are easily propagated leaf succulents from the family Crassulaceae, which are endemic to southern Africa. The name comes from the ancient Greek ''adros'' (=thick) and ''mischos'' (=stem).
Sp ...
''), ''Kalanchoe pinnata'' has been found to contain bufadienolide
Bufadienolide is a chemical compound with steroid structure. Its derivatives are collectively known as bufadienolides, including many in the form of bufadienolide glycosides (bufadienolides that contain structural groups derived from sugars). These ...
cardiac glycosides These can cause cardiac poison
Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...
ing, particularly in grazing animals.
''Bryophyllum pinnatum'' has been recorded in Trinidad and Tobago as being used as a traditional treatment for hypertension
Hypertension (HTN or HT), also known as high blood pressure (HBP), is a long-term medical condition in which the blood pressure in the arteries is persistently elevated. High blood pressure usually does not cause symptoms. Long-term high bl ...
.
In traditional medicine, the juice of the leaves is also used for kidney stones, although there is ongoing research and some scientific evidence for this use but further research is required. In the French Antilles, Kalanchoe pinnata, called ''zeb maltet'', is used in local application against headaches. For the people of the Amazon, kalanchoe has multiple uses: the Creoles use it roasted against inflammations and cancer and as an infusion, and as a popular remedy for fevers. The Palikur people of Brazil and French Guiana apply a preparation of the juice of Kalanchoe leaves mixed with coconut oil to their foreheads to treat headache.
Chemical constituents
Bufadienolide
Bufadienolide is a chemical compound with steroid structure. Its derivatives are collectively known as bufadienolides, including many in the form of bufadienolide glycosides (bufadienolides that contain structural groups derived from sugars). These ...
compounds isolated from ''Bryophyllum pinnatum'' include bryophillin A, bersaldegenin-3-acetate, and bryophillin C. Bryophillin C also showed insecticidal properties.
Phytochemical studies of Kalanchoe pinnata have identified the presence of triterpenes, steroid
A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and a ...
, phenanthrene
Phenanthrene is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) with formula C14H10, consisting of three fused benzene rings. It is a colorless, crystal-like solid, but can also appear yellow. Phenanthrene is used to make dyes, plastics and pesticides, e ...
, flavonoid
Flavonoids (or bioflavonoids; from the Latin word ''flavus'', meaning yellow, their color in nature) are a class of polyphenolic secondary metabolites found in plants, and thus commonly consumed in the diets of humans.
Chemically, flavonoids ...
, flavones, chalcone
Chalcone is the organic compound C6H5C(O)CH=CHC6H5. It is an α,β-unsaturated ketone. A variety of important biological compounds are known collectively as chalcones or chalconoids.
Chemical properties
Chalcones have two absorption maxima a ...
s, taraxasterol
Taraxasterol (anthesterin) is a triterpene derived from the mevalonate pathway and is found in dandelions.
Biosynthesis
The precursor for the biosynthesis of taraxasterol is squalene. In the first step of this formation squalene is cycliz ...
, aurones, phenolic acid, caffeic acid, syringic acid, malic, oxalic and ferulic
Ferulic acid is a hydroxycinnamic acid, an organic compound with the formula (CH3O)HOC6H3CH=CHCO2H. The name is derived from the genus ''Ferula'', referring to the giant fennel (''Ferula communis''). Classified as a phenolic phytochemical, feruli ...
acid. Bufadienolide
Bufadienolide is a chemical compound with steroid structure. Its derivatives are collectively known as bufadienolides, including many in the form of bufadienolide glycosides (bufadienolides that contain structural groups derived from sugars). These ...
s and phenanthrene
Phenanthrene is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) with formula C14H10, consisting of three fused benzene rings. It is a colorless, crystal-like solid, but can also appear yellow. Phenanthrene is used to make dyes, plastics and pesticides, e ...
are toxic compounds. Two calves fed for 48 hours with K. pinnata have been reported to have died due to ataxia and severe cardiac arrhythmia.[Bernard Descoings: Kalanchoe pinnata . In: Urs Eggli (ed.): Succulent lexicon. Crassulaceae (thick-leaved plants) . Eugen Ulmer, Stuttgart 2003, , p 175]
Host plant
''Kalanchoe pinnata'' is a host plant of the Red Pierrot
''Talicada nyseus'', the red Pierrot, is a small but striking butterfly found in the Indian subcontinent and South-East Asia belonging to the lycaenids, or blues family. The red Pierrots, often found perching on its larva host plant, ''Kalancho ...
butterfly.
Gallery
File:Kalanchoe pinnata (Opened Flower).jpg, Closeup of opening flower
File:Kalanchoe pinnata Blanco1.147.png, ''Bryophyllum pinnatum'' illustrated in ''Flora de Filipinas'' by Francisco Manuel Blanco (O.S.A.)
File:Kalanchoe-pinnata veg reprod.jpg, Vegetative reproduction
File:Kalanchoe pinnata 3.jpg, Closeup of flowers
File:Kalanchoe pinnata (Flower).jpg, Flowers from underside
File:Starr 080327-3840 Kalanchoe pinnata.jpg, New flowers
File:Pinnata.JPG, Foliage
Red PierrotDSC 0302.JPG, Red Pierrot
''Talicada nyseus'', the red Pierrot, is a small but striking butterfly found in the Indian subcontinent and South-East Asia belonging to the lycaenids, or blues family. The red Pierrots, often found perching on its larva host plant, ''Kalancho ...
butterfly is resting on edge of a leaf.
File:Starr_070308-5341_Kalanchoe_pinnata.jpg, Bush setting
File:Kalanchoe pinnata (Bryophyllum calycinum) - Jardim Botânico de Brasília - DSC09671.JPG, Botanical specimen
References
External links
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q311188
pinnata
Endemic flora of Madagascar
Medicinal plants
House plants
Plants described in 1805