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Cultivation (Most of the Cotyledons succeed)
Most of the Cotyledons succeed in well-drained sandy loam, and are readily propagated by seed; this plan being, of course, the only one for the annual species. Many produce a large number of offsets, which afford a certain and rapid method of increase. With those species from which no offsets are developed, and from which few cuttings can be obtained, recourse must be had to the leaves; these should be pulled-not cut-off in autumn, laid on dry sand, in pans, on a shelf, in a propagating or other warm house, and not watered. After some time, small plants form at the ends of the leaves; these should be carefully watered, and, as soon as large enough to handle, placed in small pots, in sandy soil. C. gibbiflora metallica is often used in central positions in bedding-out designs, where it is very distinct and effective. This is rather a tender plant, and one which is sometimes difficult to keep in winter; a dry place in a warm house is the best, and during that season but little water should be given. If the leaves are exposed to drip, or the plants are kept too wet at the roots, they are very liable to damp off. C. secunda glauca is very extensively used in gardens, either in single or double lines, as edging plants, or for tracing out designs in carpet bedding. It is hardy enough to stand out in a mild winter, but it is always safer to lift the plants in autumn and place them thickly in a frame where excess of moisture can be guarded against, and frost excluded by means of mats or some other covering. This is one of the easiest to increase, as it annually produces large numbers of side growths, which can be removed and grown into good plants in a comparatively short time. C. fulgens is a fine greenhouse winter-flowering plant that deserves extended cultivation, as its thick coral-red, wax-like flowers remain a considerable time in full beauty. It is easily grown, and does not require much heat. It can be propagated by the leaves, or by cutting up the plants after they have done flowering. June is a good time to put in the cuttings, which should be kept close in a cool place until they have rooted. Early in September, they may be removed into 5in. pots, in which they will flower. Strong plants will produce three or four panicles of flowers, which open best in a slightly warm, dry atmosphere; they can then be moved into the greenhouse, where they will last a long time. C. Pachyphytum, often used as a centre amongst other dwarf-growing bedding plants, should be kept rather dry during winter, in a frame or house free from frost. It is easily increased by the leaves, treated in the way mentioned at the commencement of this paragraph.
C. adunca (hooked). fl. yellow, pink. h. 2ft. to 4ft. Mexico. SYN. Pachyphytum. (Ref. B. 60.) C. agavoides (Agave-like).* fl. dull orange, few, disposed on a slender stem, which is 8in. to 12in. long. l. rosulate, ovate, glaucous-green, fleshy, narrowed to a rigid, spiny point. Mexico. Plant stemless. SYN. Echeveria agavoides.(Ref. B. 67.) C. atropurpurea (dark purple).* fl. bright red, pentagonal, white towards the base; flower-stem erect, terminating in a long raceme. l. obovate-spathulate, dark purple, covered with a glaucous "bloom," and aggregated into a dense rosette at the top of the stem, which is short, stout, and glaucous. Mexico, 1869. SYN. Echeveria atropurpurea. (Ref. B. 198.) C. caespitosa (tufted). fl. yellow, cymose. July. l. rosulate, narrow, tongue-formed, lanceolate, gradually narrowed to an acute point. h. 1ft. California, 1796. SYN. Echeveria coespitosa. (Ref. B. 69.) C. californica (Californian).* fl. pale yellow, disposed on lateral flowering stems, which are 1ft. long, bearing short, ovate, amplexicaul leaves, and a bifid or trifid raceme. l. rosulate, ligulate, lanceolate, acute, farinosely-glaucous. h. 9in. California, 1855. SYN. Echeveria californica. (Ref. B. 70.) C. canaliculata (channelled). fl. red. April. h. 2ft. Mexico, 1846. SYN. Echeveria canaliculata.
C. chrysantha (golden-flowerd). fl. white or cream-coloured. l. of the dense rosettes shortly oblong-spathulate, obtuse; the cauline ones elliptic acute. h. 3in. to 1ft. Orient. A very in-appropriate name, given to the plant by its describer before he had seen it in a living state. SYN. Umbilicus chrysanthus. C. clavifolia (club-leaved). fl. purple; spikes terminal. September. l. petiolate, club-formed, incurved, acuminated, and rather curled at the apex. h. 6in. Cape of Good Hope, 1824. This species is allied to C. cristata, but the flowers are about twice the size.
C. coccinea (scarlet).* fl. in axillary, elongated, leafy spikes; corolla scarlet on the outside, and yellow on the inside, or paler. October. l. spathulately lanceolate. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Plant soft, pubescent. SYN. Echeveria coccinea. (B. M. 2572.) C. Cooperi (Cooper's). fl. pink. h. 6in. South Africa, 1860. (Ref. B. 72.) C. coruscans (glittering).* fl. orange-coloured, pendulous, disposed in umbellate panicles. June. l. decussate, aggregate, cuneate-oblong, channelled, with thick margins, apiculated, covered with white mealiness. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1818. (B. M. 2601.) C. cristata (crested). fl. small, variegated, open in the morning; spikes terminal. September. l. petiolate, cuneately-triangular, dotted, curled, and crested at the apex. Stem short. h. 6in. Cape of Good Hope, 1820. C. decipiens (deceiving). fl. white. h. 6in. Peru, 1868. SYN. Echeveria decipiens.
C. decussata (cross-leaved). Synonymous with C. papillaris. C. fascicularis (clustered). fl. panicled, pendulous; corolla with a short, greenish, broad, sub-pentagonal tube, and a reddish-revolute limb. July. l. scattered, but in fascicles at the tops of the branches, cuneiform, obtuse, flat, thick. Caudex thickened, branched. h. 1ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1759. (B. M. 5602.) C. fulgens (shining).* fl. bright coral-red, yellow at the base, disposed in an irregular panicle of nodding racemes. l. obovate-spathulate, pale glaucous-green, arranged in a thin rosette. Stem 4in. to 6in. high, throwing out leafy flowering branches, 12in. to 18in. long. Mexico. SYN. Echeveria fulgens. (Ref. B. 64.) C. gibbiflora (gibbons-flowered). fl. on short pedicels along the branches of the panicle, which is spreading; petals gibbous at the base, between the lobes of the calyx, straight, acute, white at the base, and rather scarlet at the apex. July. l. flat, cuneiform, acutely mucronate, crowded at the tops of the branches. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Mexico, 1826. SYN. Echeveria gibbiflora. C.g.metallica (metallic).* fl. yellowish, tipped with red, thirty to sixty in a loose thyrsoid panicle, which is borne on a longish stem. l. broad, obovate-spathulate, about 6in. across, and rather more in length, of a beautiful purplish-glaucous metallic hue. Mexico. SYN. C. metallica. (Ref. B. 65.) Of this very extensively-cultivated plant there are numerous forms. C. glaber (smooth). fl. yellowish; floral stem 6in. high, cymose-paniculate. l. rosulate, spathulate-elliptic. Turkestan, 1880. Hardy. SYN. Umbilicus glaber.
C. glauca (glaucous). fl. scarlet, tipped with yellow, twelve to twenty in a secund raceme, the stems of which are slender and pinkish. l. in a dense rosette, obovate-cuneate, mucronate, and farinosely glaucous. h. 6in. Mexico. SYN. Echeveria glauca. (Ref. B. 61.) C. grandiflora (large-flowered).* fl. in spicate panicles; corolla of a reddish-orange colour, with a tinge of purple. October. l. orbicularly cuneated, all white or glaucous; lower ones rosulate. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Mexico, 1828. SYN. Echeveria grandiflora.
C. hemisphaerica (hemispherical). fl. with a green tube, and the limb variegated with white and purple; small, nearly sessile, erect, along an elongated peduncle. July. l. scattered, ovate-roundish, thick, dotted, glabrous. h. 1ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1731.
C. linguaefolia (tongue-leaved). fl. yellowish. h. 1ft. Mexico. SYN. Echeveria linguoefolia. (Ref. B. 58.) C. lurida (lurid). fl. disposed in racemose spikes; corolla same as in C. grandiflora, but more scarlet. July. l. lower ones lanceo-late-cuneated, of a livid colour; superior ones lanceolate. h. 1ft. Mexico, 1830. Plant rather tufted. SYN. Echevcria lurida. (Ref. B. 59.) C. maculata (spotted). fl. in a lax simple raceme; tube of corolla green, sub-ventricose, with the segments of the limb acute, rose-pink; throat white, slightly spotted. July. l. scattered, ovate-spathulate, somewhat auricled at the base, fleshy, shining, marked with dark-red spots on both surfaces. h. 1ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1816. (Ref. B. 35.) C. metallica (metallic). A synonym of C. gibbiflora metallica. C. orbiculata (round). fl. reddish, panicled. July. l. opposite, flat, obovately-spathulate, obtuse, with an acumen, glaucous and mealy, margined with red, h. 2ft. to 4ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1690. (R. H. 1857,3.7.) The following varieties belong to this species: elata, oblonga, obovata, ramosa, and rotundifolia.
C. Pachyphytum (thick-plant).* fl. red h. 1ft. Mexico. SYN. Pachyphytum bracteosum.
C. Papillaris (pimpled). fl. in panicles; corolla with a somewhat pentagonal tube, and oblong acute reflexed lobes. August. l. opposite, terete-ovate, fleshy, glabrous, acute, erect. h. 1ft. to 2ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1819. SYN. C. decussata. (B. R. 915.) C. Peacockii (Peacock's).* fl., corolla bright red, under 1/2in. long; spike scorpioid, 1ft. long; upper flowers close, the lower ones distant. July. l. in a close rosette, obovate-spathulate, about 2in. to 2 1/2in. long, and 1 1/2in. broad. Stem lateral, slender, terete, reddish-brown. h. 1ft. Mexico, 1874. SYN. Echeveria Peacockii.
C. Pestalozzae (Pestalozza's).* fl. pale rose, sub-secund; panicle glandulously hairy, panicled. l., radical ones spathulate-obtuse, margin obsoletely denticulated; cauline ones obovate-oblong. Cilicia, 1877. SYN. Umbilicus Pestalozzoe. (G. C. n. s., viii. 457.) C. platyphylla (broad-leaved). fl. white, cymose-corymbose. l., radical ones rosulate, ovate-spathulate, obtuse, or sub-acute, minutely papillose-hairy. h. 9in. Altai, 1880. Hardy. SYN. Umbilicus platyphyllus. C. racemosa (racemose).* fl. scarlet, alternate, erect, on short pedicels, very closely resembling those of C. coccinea, but the sepals are shorter and mucronate, and the petals are narrower; racemes spike-formed and elongated. October. l., radical ones thickish, elliptic, acute, awnless, rosulate. Plant quite glabrous. h. 2ft. Mexico, 1836. SYN. Echeveria racemosa. C. ramosissima (much-branched). fl. with a pale green tube, and a pinkish spreading limb, solitary at the tips of the branchlets, drooping, 1 1/2in. long. September. l. crowded, opposite, 3/4in. to 1in. long, orbicular, obovate, sub-acute or cuspidate, concave, densely fleshy. h. 1ft. to 3ft. South Africa. A bushy, succulent, much-branched, erect shrub. (B. M. 6417.) C. retusa (blunt).* fl. yellowish; petals keeled, gibbous at the base; branches few-flowered; panicle dense, sub-corymbose. l. obovate-spathulate; old ones retuse, glaucous, crenulated; cauline ones linear-oblong, quite entire. h. 1 1/2ft. Mexico, 1846. SYN. Echeveria retusa. The varieties glauca and floribunda splendens are among the best of flowering varieties. C. rosea (rosy). fl., calyx rose-coloured; corolla yellow; lower bracts triquetrous; spike cylindrical, dense. April. l. oval-acute, sometimes rosulate, sometimes imbricated. Plant caulescent. h. 1ft. Mexico, 1840. SYN. Echeveria rosea.
C. Salzmanni (Salzmann's). fl., corollas brilliant golden, tips of the spreading lobes red; disposed in a broad compoundly corymbose head. July. l. fleshy, terete, covered with short red streaks. Stem stout, ascending, leafy. Tangiers, 1869. SYN. Pistorinia Salzmanni. (B. M. 5801.) C. Scheerii (Scheer's). fl. creamy-yellow; racemes nutant. October. l. ovate-acute, lengthened into the flat petioles. h. 1 1/2ft. Mexico, 1841. Plant caulescent. SYN. Echeveria Scheerii.
C. secunda (secund). fl. reddish-yellow, on long peduncles; racemes secund, recurved. June to August. l. rosulate, crowded, cuneate, mucronate, glaucous. h. 1ft. Mexico, 1837. This is one of the best for general purposes, and is most extensively grown. SYN. Echeveria secunda. It has numerous varieties. The best are: glauca, with bluish-white leaves; glauca major, a large form of the first-named variety, having leaves not quite so light-coloured; and ramosa, a monstrosity in habit of growth-stem flat, broad, and covered at the top with numerous small green abortive leaves, in appearance resembling the inflorescence of a Cockscomb.
C. Sempervivum (House Leek).* fl. deep red; peduncles many-flowered. August and September. l. rosulate, ovate, sub-acute, dull green, tinged with brown. h. 4in. to 6in. Hardy. SYN. Umbilicus Sempervivum.
C. serrata (saw-like). fl. variegated with white and red; peduncles two to three-flowered. June. l. oblong, cartilaginously-crenated. Stem sub-spicate. h. 6in. Candia, 1732. Hardy. (S. F. G. 444.) C. spinosa (spiny).* fl. yellow, five-parted, on short pedicels, collected into a cylindrical spike. June. l. oblong, pointed by a spine at the apex, quite entire; radical ones rosulate, spathulate, convex beneath towards the apex; cauline ones lanceolate, flat. Stem spicate, very simple. h. 1ft. Siberia, China, &c., 1810. Hardy. Often called in gardens Sempervivum spinosum.
C. teretifolia (terete-leaved). fl. yellow, July. h. 1 1/2ft. South Africa, 1862.
C. tricuspidata (three-spined). This species is close to C. papillaris, but differs in the leaves being tricuspidate. h. 1ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1823. C. tuberculosa (knotted). fl. showy, orange-coloured, tubular, 1in. or more long, sub-panicled, erect; limb spreading. June. l. scattered, sub-cylindrical, linear-oblong, acute. h. 1ft. Cape of Good Hope, 1820. C. turkestanica (Turkestan). fl. white, with purple stripes outside, cymose; floral stem 2in. to 6in. high. l., radical ones in a dense rosette, flat, oblong-lanceolate or spathulate-ovate acute, puberulous, ciliate. h. 9in. Turkestan, 1880. Hardy.
C. Umbilicus (Navelwort).* Penny Leaf; Penny Pies; Penny wort. fl. yellow, crect; corolla hardly five-cleft to the middle. June. l., lower ones peltate, densely crenated, roundish; bracts a little toothed. h. 6in. Britain. Hardy. (Sy. En. B. 539.) C. velutina (velvety).* fl. yellow, green at the base, and margined with red, pendulous; scape erect, with a flat-headed sub-corymbose panicle. l. large, opposite, oblong-ovate, fleshy, velvety when young, and somewhat glaucous when old. h. 2ft. to 3ft. South Africa, about 1840. (B. M. 5684.)