Angiosperms (Flowering Plants) • Earth.com

Aeonium glandulosum

(Aeonium glandulosum)

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en

Description

Aeonium glandulosum is a species of subshrub of the family Crassulaceae endemic to the Madeira archipelago (Madeira Island, Porto Santo Island and Desertas Islands). It is a biennial or perennial glandular-pubescent sub-shrub with a very short stem, hidden by the leaves, occasionally stoloniferous. It has rosette shaped leaves, flat and plate-like but becomes centrally dome-shaped when the flowering season approaches, 30 centimetres (12 in) in diameter. It has loose inflorescences, 30 by 45 centimetres (12 in × 18 in) with 3–19 millimetres (0.12–0.75 in) pedicels that become distally curved. Petals are 7–10 millimetres (0.28–0.39 in), pale yellow and occasionally tinged with red. The species is endemic to Madeira Island, Porto Santo Island, Desertas Islands and Bugio Island and is commonly found on sea cliffs in northern shores or rocky peaks from sea level up to 700 metres (2,300 ft) in altitude. Aeonium, the tree houseleeks, is a genus of about 35 species of succulent, subtropical plants of the family Crassulaceae. Many species are popular in horticulture. The genus name comes from the ancient Greek "αιώνιος"/"aionios" (ageless). While most of them are native to the Canary Islands, some are found in Madeira, Cape Verde, Morocco, in East Africa (Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya) and Yemen. The succulent leaves are typically arranged on a basal stem, in a dense, spreading rosette. A feature which distinguishes this genus from many of its relatives is the manner in which the flowers bear free petals, and are divided into 6 or 12 sections. Each rosette produces a central inflorescence only once, and then dies back (though it will usually branch or offset to produce ensuing rosettes). Low-growing Aeonium species are A. tabuliforme and A. smithii; large species include A. arboreum, A. valverdense and A. holochrysum. They are related to the genera Sempervivum, Aichryson and Monanthes, as can be seen by their similar flower and inflorescences. Recently, the genus Greenovia has been placed within Aeonium. Most aeoniums are from the Canary Islands,  but some are from Madeira, Cape Verde, Morocco, Yemen and East Africa : Ethiopia (for example in the Semien Mountains), Somalia, Uganda, Tanzania and Kenya. Some species have been introduced in California.

Taxonomic tree:

Domain:
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum:
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order:Saxifragales
Family:Crassulaceae
Genus:Aeonium
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