ECHEVERIA ELEGANS: CHARACTERISTICS, HABITAT, REPRODUCTION, CARE - BIOLOGY - 2024

Echeveria elegans is a succulent acaule plant that belongs to the Crassulaceae family. It is an herb native to the state of Hidalgo in Mexico, and grows in xerophytic environments. It is a plant cultivated for horticultural purposes, especially for its aesthetic value.

Like other crassulaceae, this plant has the ability to store water in its leaves, thus forming a mucilaginous mixture of carbohydrates and salts. This process is done in the wet period, and this is what makes it called a succulent plant.

Echeveria elegans. Kurt stüber

In turn, E. elegans develops fibrous roots, in which the main root is indistinguishable from the secondary roots. While the leaves are simple, succulent, silver-green, with entire margins and in some cases, red, and are arranged with spiral phyllotaxis.

Echeveria elegans is a slow-growing perennial plant that forms a rosette approximately 15 cm long. It generally reproduces by seeds, although it can also be propagated by cuttings and suckers.

This plant has a high economic value, due to its aesthetic appearance, which makes it ideal as an indoor plant. This has made its cultivation in nurseries extensive. In this sense, various cares must be taken into account, such as the size of the pot and the presence of well-drained soils.

characteristics

Plant

Echeveria elegans is a slow-growing acaule perennial that can grow to between 10 and 25 cm in height. This plant grows in a rosette.

Sheet s

The leaves are simple, succulent, without stipules, sessile and arranged with spiral phyllotaxis. On the other hand, the color is light green varying to a pale bluish green, and the margins are whole and translucent; in wild specimens the margin is reddish.

The leaves have an obovate-wedge shape and a size that varies from 2.5 to 3.0 cm long in wild individuals, and from 5 to 6 cm in cultivated specimens. While the thickness can be up to 2.5 cm near the apex, which is muchronous.

Inflorescence

The inflorescence is lateral and axillary, and consists of a peduncle that supports the flowers and bracts. The bracts are similar in color and shape to leaves, but smaller. The floral branches can be 10 to 20 cm long, pink in color. Each branch can contain 8 to 12 pink leaves and 5 to 7 flowers in the second cluster.

Echeveria elegans. H. Krisp

The sepals are shiny in appearance, uneven, often toothed near the base, ascending, and not attached to the corolla. The latter is 10 mm long, its segments can be seen almost from the base, and it is pink with yellow tips.

The stamens arise from the corolla, attached to the base of the corolla, and are ⅔ the size of the corolla

Physiology

This plant, along with the rest of the crassulaceae, shares interesting metabolic qualities. Thus, crassulaceae acid metabolism (CAM) is found in E. elegans.

This metabolism is characterized by keeping the intake and fixation of CO ₂ temporarily separated, since the intake is made at night, when the plants open their stomata; and the fixation on the Calvin cycle is done during the day, when plants capture solar energy and transform it into chemical energy.

CAM metabolism. Original: YikrazuulDerivative: Ed (Edgar181)

Taxonomy

- Kingdom: Plantae.

- Subkingdom: Viridiplantae.

- Infra kingdom: Streptophyte.

- Super division: Embriofita.

- Subdivision: Eufilofitina.

- Infra division: Lignofita.

- Class: Spermatophyte.

- Subclass: Magnoliofita.

- Order: Saxifragales.

- Family: Crassulaceae.

- Subfamily: Sedoideae.

- Tribe: Echeverieae.

- Genus: Echeveria.

- Species: Echeveria elegans Rose (1905).

Habitat and distribution

Echeveria elegans is a succulent native to the state of Hidalgo, Mexico. This plant has a herbaceous habit and the leaves are arranged in a rosette to prevent wilting. This plant grows in a wide variety of environments, for example within pine and oak forests, and especially in xerophilous scrub.

In general, this plant colonizes areas called arid enclaves, which are rocky areas in the xerophytic scrub ecological unit.

This herb tends to colonize open areas to receive direct sun, avoiding leaf burning thanks to its roseate shape.

It is distributed altitudinally from 100 to 2000 meters above sea level with temperatures that vary from 20 to 30 ͒ C. It is a drought tolerant plant, so it can occupy regions where the annual rainfall is equal to or less than 360 mm.

Reproduction

The reproductive process of E. elegans is little known, however the few studies carried out indicate that pollination is carried out by hummingbirds. Likewise, different findings suggest that the limiting factor during the reproduction of this species is the amount of pollen.

On the other hand, sexual reproduction in Echeveria elegans is a priority, since it shows many advantages, generally due to the maintenance of genetic diversity. However, when there are adverse environmental conditions, this succulent tends to reproduce vegetatively.

Asexual propagation is done through rhizomes, buds, adventitious bulbs, leaf buds, or any part of the plant. Asexual reproduction has been found to ensure more rigorous individuals; however, cultivation and domestication practices have led this species to danger of extinction.

Care

Echeveria elegans is an important plant from an economic point of view, as it is marketed for its aesthetic appearance. However, its commercialization is relatively less compared to other Echeveria.

During its cultivation, light is the most important environmental factor to be taken into account, as it prefers direct light. Meanwhile, the substrate can have any origin; the important thing is that it has good drainage, since root rot is the most common cause of death of this plant.

Echeveria elegans can be grown in pots, for which the indicated size must be selected according to the phenological age of the plant. For its part, it is recommended to irrigate once a week to avoid waterlogging of the substrate.

Also, this plant responds well to fertilization, although it must be balanced, since an excess of nitrogen, for example, will lead the plant to excessive enlargement. This plant is susceptible to insects, which can cause massive defoliation. In this case it is recommended to apply systemic insecticides at low doses.

References

1. Borys, MW, Leszczyńska-Borys, H., Galván, JL 2009. Echeveria spp. -Rosette tolerance to long-lasting water constraint. Acta Horticulturae, (813): 255–262.
2. Lord, NL, Rose, JN 1905. Crassulaceae. The New York Botanical Garden, 22 (1): 1-80.
3. Raju, MVS, Mann, HE 1971. Regenerative studies on the detached leaves of Echeveria elegans. Patterns of regeneration of leaves in sterile culture. Canadian Journal of Botany, 49 (11): 2015–2021
4. Reyes-Santiago, PJ, Islas-Luna, MA, González-Zorzano, O., Carrillo, P., Vergara, FR, Brachet, CP 2011. Echeveria, manual of the diagnostic profile of the genus Echeveria in Mexico. Autonomous University of Chapingo, first edition.
5. The Taxonomicon. (2004-2019). Taxon: Species Echeveria elegans Rose (1905) (plant). Taken from: taxonomicon.taxonomy.nl