Echeveria is a large genus of succulents in the Crassulaceae family, comprising about 150 species. It is native from Mexico to northwestern South America. Echeveria is named after Atanasio EcheverrÍa y Godoy, an 18th century Mexican botanical artist and naturalist. Echeveria is commonly known as Hen and chicks, as many species produce numerous offsets.
Echeveria is cultivated mainly for its foliage and vividly colored flowers which are usually borne on long stalks. The flower stalks usually do not develop from the centre, and the bell-shaped or urn-shaped flowers are borne on spikes, in clusters or in racemes. The flowers comes in white, yellow, pink, red, orange or a combination of these colors. The leaves are usually not true green, but bloomed or hairy. Echeveria is stemless perennial,stemmed semi-shrubs and shrubs, branching or non-branching.
Many Echeveria species are popular garden plants. They are polycarpic (meaning they will flower and set seed many times before they die), drought-resistant, and most will tolerate shade and some frost, although hybrid species tend to be less tolerant.
Propagation is by separating offsets, leaf cuttings, and by seed. Most species lose their lower leaves in winter. As a result, they become less attractive after a few years and need to be replaced.
Echeveria derenbergii http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Echeveria.derenbergii.7072.jpg Olaf Leillinger
Echeveria gibbiflora http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Echeveria_gibbiflora_001.JPG H. Zell
Echeveria lavi http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Echeveria_lavi_fg01.JPG Fritz Geller-Grimm
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Echeveria.derenbergii.7072.jpg
Olaf Leillinger
