Kalanchoe Sect. Bryophyllum

Kalanchoe Sect. Bryophyllum

Roughly two dozen, see text.

The Bryophyllums (from the Greek βρῦον/βρύειν bryon/bryein = sprout, φύλλον phyllon = leaf) are a section in the plant genus Kalanchoe of the Crassulaceae family. There are about twenty to thirty species in the group, native originally of South Africa, Madagascar, and Asia. The group is notable for vegetatively growing small plantlets on the fringes of the leaves; these eventually drop off and root. These plantlets arise from mitosis of meristematic-type tissue in notches in the leaves.

Nowadays, bryophyllums are naturalised in many parts of the tropics, and deliberately cultivated for their attractiveness or for their interesting reproduction. Some species are toxic, containing plant acids, bufadienolide alkaloids, calcium oxalate etc, and have become noxious weeds in parts of the world. In the native range of some of these Kalanchoe species in the Karroo region of South Africa, they are abundant enough that they cause disease in livestock, known as krimpsiekte ("shrinking disease") or as cotyledonosis.

There are many hybrids, e.g. Kalanchoe × crenatodaigremontiana (K. crenata × K. daigremontiana) or Houghton's Hybrid (B.daigremontianum × B.delagoensis).