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Kalanchoe pinnata
Also called Miracle Leaf, Mexican Loveplant, Mother In Law, Airplant, Curtainplant, Floppers, Good Luck Leaf
In Singapore: Life Plant, Mother of Thousands, Miracle Leaf, Setawar Kampung, 落地生根 (Grown in Singapore)
Cathedral bells is a succulent subshrub from Madagascar, widely grown as a houseplant and garden plant, and known for the small plantlets that form along its leaf edges. Its key to success is bright light, sharp drainage and infrequent watering.
Kalanchoe pinnata, commonly known as cathedral bells, air plant, life plant, miracle leaf, and love bush, is a succulent plant 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 leaves, a trait it has in common with some other members of Bryophyllum (now included in Kalanchoe).
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 10 °C (50 °F). 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.
In common with other species belonging to the Crassulaceae (including certain members of the genera Tylecodon, Cotyledon and Adromischus), Kalanchoe pinnata has been found to contain bufadienolide cardiac glycosides These can cause cardiac poisoning, particularly in grazing animals.
Bryophyllum pinnatum has been recorded in Trinidad and Tobago as being used as a traditional treatment for hypertension.
Kalanchoe pinnata is native to Madagascar. and has become naturalized in tropical and subtropical areas, inhabiting warm and temperate climates from sea level to 2,600 m (8,500 ft), occupying sites on rock in tropical evergreen and dry deciduous forests, as well as montane forests. It is found in parts of Asia, Africa, Australia, New Zealand, the West Indies, Bermuda, Macaronesia, the Mascarenes, Brazil, Suriname, the Galapagos Islands, Melanesia, Polynesia, and Hawaii.
Elephant's ear Kalanchoe · Madagascar widow's-thrill · Devil's backbone · Chandelier plant · Palm beachbells · Narrow Leaved Kalanchoë · Milky Widow's Thrill · Kalanchoe longiflora · Kalanchoe luciae · Kalanchoe manginii · Penwiper · Kalanchoe marnieriana
[Contains information from Leaf Area Index (LAI) and Heritage Trees from data.gov.sg (National Parks Board), made available under the terms of the Singapore Open Data Licence version 1.0]
Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Kalanchoe pinnata by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.
The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.
Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.
Pet safety from the ASPCA toxic and non-toxic plant lists.
