A name for a hybrid Kalanchoenow naturalized in Florida

Abstract

T he State of Florida is home to between 3400 and 3900 plant species that thrive outside of cultivation (Ward1 counts 3448, Wunderlin2 3834). Of these, very nearly onethird are introduced and naturalized (Ward: 925, Wunderlin: 1180). Nine members of the Crassulaceae, including six species of Kalanchoe (broadly interpreted to include Bryophyllum), are considered to have become part of the state’s flora3. The six naturalized kalanchoes, as frost-sensitive plants, are confined to the Florida peninsula. Though they may occur in dense local stands, none are frequent or common. Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi, K. gastonis-bonnieri and K. laciniata have been ranked1 as “rare”, while K. daigremontiana, K. delagoensis and K. pinnata are ranked as “infrequent”. All of these species share the conflicting characteristics of horticultural appeal and—by their properties of invasiveness and toxicity—habitat degradation. Now still another kalanchoe, morphologically distinct but seemingly of hybrid origin, has been found to be well established outside of cultivation in four widely separated areas of the Florida peninsula. Though known in cultivation for at least sixty-five years4, this taxon has not received a scientific binomial. This attractive plant now appears to be sufficiently naturalized to be considered a member of the Florida flora. It has been found in some abundance on the central east coast, Merritt Island, Brevard County; on the southwest coast,