Perennials, Tropicals > Kleinia > Kleinia pendula > Kleinia pendula
Kleinia pendula
Inch Worm, Inchworm Plant, Tapeworm Plant
Origin: Native to Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya and Yemen.
| Family |
| Asteraceae |
| Genus |
| Kleinia |
| Species |
| pendula |
| Category |
| Perennials, Tropicals |
| Synonyms |
| Senecio pendulus, Cacalia pendula, Kleinia subulifolia, Monadenium subulifolium, Notonia pendula, Notonia trachycarpa, Notonia trachycarpa, Senecio gunnisii |
| USDA Hardiness Zone |
| 10a - 11b |
| Canadian Hardiness Zone |
| Requires cold season protection under glass. |
| RHS Hardiness Zone |
| H3 - H1c |
| Temperature (°C) |
| ?1.1 - +10 |
| Temperature (°F) |
| 30 - 50 |
Photographs
Cultivars
click to expand
Description and Growing Information
Flowering Period
| General Description |
| A creeping succulent with green patterned stems and showy, red flowers. |
| Landscape |
| It is suitable for small “desert” gardens, in association with other xerophytes or as a potted plant. |
| Growth |
| Medium |
| ID Characteristic |
| A dwarf, perennial herb, forming prostrate mats up to 50 cm in diameter of slender, "cucumber" shaped stems recurved and re-entering the soil, only to re-emerge a few centimetres away in a repeating pattern. |
| Pests |
| Mealybugs, scale insects and spider mite. Prone to rot if overwatered. |
| Habitat |
| It grows in humus-rich areas where moisture regularly comes from the sea. |
| Bark/Stem Description |
| The stems arch over and touch the soil where they re-root and send out new stems. They often will turn purplish in strong light. Individual stems are jointed and brittle, up to 30 cm long, up to 2 cm in diameter, variable in size and shape, waxy, green to bronze-green with white dots and darker purple arrowhead markings and rough from persistent dried leaf-scales. |
| Leaf Description |
| Scale-like, ephemeral, shrivelling quickly but persisting for a while as pseuo-thorns. |
| Flower Description |
| Terminal, orange, rarely branched, 4-9 cm tall, peduncle broadened conically upwards. |
| Fruit Description |
| 2.5–5 mm long, ribbed, hairy, with a pappus 14 - 23 mm long. |
| Notable Specimens |
| Queen Sirikit Botanic Garden, Mae Rim District, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand. |
| Propagation |
| It is easy from seed in spring but less so from cuttings. Seeds germinate in 14-21 days at 21°C. Cuttings grow easily once left to callous for several days and then planted in succulent soil mix. |
top