air plant

Description

Bryophyllum pinnatum, also known as the air plant, cathedral bells, life plant, miracle leaf, and Goethe plant is a succulent plant native to Madagascar, which is a popular houseplant and has become naturalized in tropical and subtropical areas. It is distinctive for the profusion of miniature plantlets that form on the margins of its phylloclades, a trait it has in common with some other members of its genus. It is a succulent, perennial plant, about 1m tall, with a fleshy cylindrical stem and a reddish color for the youngest and it flowers most of the year. The specific epithet "pinnata" is the declination of the Latin pinnatus, meaning "winged, pinnate". It has become naturalized in tropical and subtropical areas, inhabiting warm and temperate climates from sea level to 2,600 meters, occupying sites on rock in tropical evergreen and deciduous forests, as well as montane forests. It is found in parts of Asia, Australia, New Zealand, the West Indies, the Philippines, Macaronesia, the Mascarenes, the Galapagos Islands, Melanesia, Polynesia, and Hawaii. In many of these, such as Hawaii, it is regarded as an invasive species. Much of the reason for the widespread naturalization of this plant can be traced to its popularity as a garden plant.