Noble aeonium

Description

Aeonium nobile is a succulent, subtropical flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae. It is native to the island of La Palma in the Canary Islands, where it grows on dry slopes and cliffs at altitudes up to 800m. The inflorescences are large and spreading with bright red flowers. 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.