Air Plant Care

Bryophyllum pinnatum is native to Madagascar but widely distributed on plains, tropical and temperate regions of Africa, Australia and America. It is a common weed in banks, hummocks, waste grounds and thickets in dry and wet regions, ascending to 1400 metres, on foothills and along the slopes especially in the thin layer of soil by exposed rocks. It is a water-storing perennial that grows about 1 to 1.5 m tall. In young plants the oppositely arranged leaves are simple becoming tri-pinnately compound as the plant matures. The leaf/leaflets are elliptic to 20 cm in length with a notched margin that produces plantlets and a rounded apex. Kalanchoe pinnata blooms in winter-spring with the pendulant, actinomorphic flowers that are arranged in large panicles. The calyx has 4 fused sepals forming a tube. The corolla has 4 fused petals forming a tube that exceeds the calyx. There are 8 stamens fused to the base of the corolla. The ovary is superior with 4 locules and numerous seeds. The fruit is a capsule at maturity. In other areas of the Caribbean it is used as a cooling tea or as a poultice for sores. It is also grown as an ornamental but can become problematic as it spreads rapidly by vegetative reproduction. It is traditionally known to exhibit a wide range of pharmacological activities that involves treatment for the most serious disorders related to mankind.