Cotyledon pendens
C. pendens can be bought online
Photo © etsy.com
Cotyledon pendens is related to C. woodii but has a completely hanging habit. It is a much branched small shrub ideal for a hanging basket. With its blueish leaves and bright red 'elven' flowers it is a very pretty plant.
It was found and described by EVJ in 2003 on sheer cliff faces of the Mbashe river, Eastern Cape.
It is easy to grow and can be perfect for a hanging basket or position in bright light.
C. pendens could be confused with other Cotyledons with hanging/trailing stems like some forms of C. papillaris, C woodii subsp. cremnophyla or even Sedum morganianum. But the bright red, large flowers should distinghuish it.
C. pendens at The Aloe Farm, SA. Photo © Andy De Wet
Plant shape
C. pendens is a cremnophyte found on sheer rocks in full sun.
It has hanging stems up to a1/2m long which branch a lot. The leaves are numerous and interspaced every 1-1.5cm on the stem.
They are about 1.5-2.5cm long, first slightly hairy, later naked and of a blue-grey colour. They end in an acute tip. They have a very short petiole.
C. pendens at the Mbashe river SA.
Photo © Andrew McKay
Flowers
The inflorescence is always at the end of the branches, about 5-10cm long and carrying 1-4 flowers. The peduncle is1-2cm long.
The flowers have the most beautiful bell shape, like an 'elven' lantern. They are orange to red. The calyx lobes are whitish and short triangular. The corollla is orange to red.
The corolla tube is about 4cm long and the recurved corolla lobes are about 15mm long. The yellow stamens are exerted.
Where
C. pendens is endemic to the Mbashe river valley in the Eastern Cape.
Variability
C. pendens has no varieties or subspecies.
More pics
C. pendens
Photo © Jacquie Koutsoudis