Monanthes is a genus of about ten dwarf Crassulaceae whose small rosettes proliferate in rocky crevices in the mountains of the Canary Islands. The otherworldly flowers are produced in profusion and may appear more fungal than floral. In M. muralis they are 6- or 7-merous and consist of a crown of burgundy-tipped free carpels resting on a circle of overlapping, hammerhead-shaped, pale, tannish-yellow petals so thin you can see through them. Projecting beyond these are the linear sepals below and the exserted stamens above the petals that briefly bear red anthers before they dehisce their yellowish pollen. It’s a wonderfully ornate design to please fly pollinators or anyone with a hand lens. We offer divisions of HBG 122423, a plant received many years ago from the Zurich Succulent Collection (ZSS). The species is native to the Canary Islands of Hierro and La Palma between 300 – 800 m elevation. $8.
Published in the Cactus and Succulent Journal, Vol. 92 (2), Summer 2020