Mother of Millions

Bryophyllum delagoense Mother of Millions

DESCRIPTION

Upright succulent herb to 1m tall with slender simple cylindrical pinkish brown or greyish stems that sucker at the base. Linear, somewhat cylindrical leaves 2.5–15 cm long, apex notched, lamina spotted violet-brown. Plantlets often formed at leaf margins.

FLOWERS AND FRUIT

Salmon-coloured to scarlet flowers in a corymbose cluster; tubular calyx 5–10mm long, corolla tube to 30mm long, lobes obovate. Clustered follicles are many seeded.

HABITAT AND RANGE

Disturbed sites near habitation, roadsides, fence lines, grasslands, woodlands and open dunes from Lakes Entrance in Victoria to Double Island near Cairns, and inland to Clermont and Emerald in Queensland. A native of South Africa and Madagascar, it is a declared noxious weed that is poisonous to livestock stock.