''Kleinia neriifolia'', known in Spanish as ''verode'' or ''berode'', is a species of

flowering plant Flowering plants are plants that bear flowers and fruits, and form the clade Angiospermae (), commonly called angiosperms. The term "angiosperm" is derived from the Greek words ('container, vessel') and ('seed'), and refers to those plants th ...

in the daisy family (

Asteraceae The family Asteraceae, alternatively Compositae, consists of over 32,000 known species of flowering plants in over 1,900 genera within the order Asterales. Commonly referred to as the aster, daisy, composite, or sunflower family, Compositae w ...

). It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

to the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

. It was formerly named ''Senecio kleinia''.

Description

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 ...

, ''Kleinia neriifolia'' has articulated branches (constrictions that make them look like rows of sausages) and thick, stubby, elongated leaves up to long which grow directly from the main stem or branch without a petiole or footstalk. The leaves grow clustered in crowded circles at the tops of the branches. Plants can reach 3 m (10 ft) or more. Fragrant grey white flowers appear at any time between March and October. The plant is

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

, the leaves falling at the beginning of the dry season. As with many succulents, reproduction by cuttings is possible. File:Pájara La Lajita - Oasis Park - Senecio kleinia 02 ies.jpg, Flowers File:Senecio kleinia achenes Malpais2007.jpg,

Achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and indehiscent (they do not ope ...

s File:Pájara - Carretera Punta de Jandía - Senecio kleinia 01 ies.jpg, Leafless in the dry season

Habitat

''Kleinia neriifolia'' grows abundantly in the Tabaibal-Cardonal zone or the arid, subtropical areas, often with steep and eroded substrates which are more pronounced and dominant in the eastern archipelago. The vegetation can be compared with that of the arid areas of

Sudan Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate. ...

and

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

and is typical of the

steppe In physical geography, a steppe () is an ecoregion characterized by grassland plains without trees apart from those near rivers and lakes. Steppe biomes may include: * the montane grasslands and shrublands biome * the temperate grasslands, ...

in the

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n continent.

Horticulture

The plant is used in gardens with dry conditions. The plant requires a minimum exposure to the sun. The minimum winter temperature it can endure is . ''Kleinia neriifolia'' has been successfully cultivated as a houseplant and as landscaping. It is on a list of suggested fire safe landscaping.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q24232919, from2=Q1386312 neriifolia Endemic flora of the Canary Islands Garden plants of Europe Drought-tolerant plants Groundcovers