This is one of those unusual tropical succulents that presents the rather incongruous combination of the typically ornate flowers of its genus, in vivid pink, with a distinctly succulent, caudiciform base. With the onset of dormancy the red stems fall away from the caudex, leaving ¼" abscission scars. True to its tropical origins it does seem to need slightly more frequent watering than the average succulent when in growth but recovers well from wilting should one forget to water. Frequent pinching back will maintain its caudiciform character and prevent it from looking like just another bedding plant. HBG 85771, plants from controlled pollination of Röösli & Rechberger s.n., collected Nov. 21, 1989, near Diego Suarez, on Montagne des Français, that famously rich succulent habitat, home to Oeceoclades roseo-variegata, Talinella pachypoda and many more (see the Jan.-Feb. 2001 issue of this journal for Lavranos, Röösli and Hoffmann’s description of this succulent paradise). $9.50.
Published in the Cactus and Succulent Journal, Vol. 74 (2), March - April, 2002