Cotyledon woodii

C. woodii at Meiringpoort, South Africa.
Photo © Sandr Falanga on inaturalist.org

Cotyledon woodii is a low shrubby species that grows up to 1m tall. The branches are woody, the leaves glabrous, flat and not very big.

This plant grows in wooded and rocky valleys in the Western and Eastern Cape.

It is easy to grow and can be pruned when it gets too bushy.

C. woodii Baviaanskloof, SA.

Plant shape

C. woodi is a true small shrub with woody stems. Sometimes hanging down a cliff.

Leaves are rather small, green of blueish, glabrous, often with a red top margin. They have a length between 1-4cm.

C. woodii flowers Kariega, Eastern Cape, SA.
Photo © wonderwalker on inaturalist.org

Flowers

The inflorescence is short, no longer than 7cm, often with a single flower on top.

The calyx lobes are green and triangular, 5mm long. The corollla is orange or red.

The corolla tube is about 1.5cm long and the recurved corolla lobes are about 12mm long. The stamens are exerted.

Where

C. woodii subsp. woodii is restricted to the Eastern Cape and the east of the western Cape. C. woodii subsp. cremnophyla is only found along the Kei river valley.

Variability

C. woodii has one recently described subspecies. Because of that, the common species is called Cotyledon woodii subsp. woodii.

C. woodii subsp. cremnophyla

This subspecies was described in 2015 from plants found on sheer cliffs along the Kei river (Eastern Cape). This plant is a true cremnophyte, growing on sheer cliffs in full sun on the river valley edges.

It only reaches 20cm in size with many branched stems hanging down. The green leaves have a distinct red edge and don't exceed 3cm in size. Typical is that the leaves are neatly arranged in a pyramidal form, becoming smaller towards the top.