Synonyms:

• (=) Bryophyllum calycinum Salisb.
• (≡) Bryophyllum pinnatum (Lam.) Oken
• Basionym: Cotyledon pinnata Lam.
• (=) Crassula pinnata L. f.
• (=) Kalanchoe pinnata var. calcicola H. Perrier
• (=) Sedum madagascaricum Clus. ex Fröd., nom. inval.

Common names:

• airplant  (Source: Hortus 3) - English
• cathedral-bells  (Source: Zander ed17) - English
• curtainplant  (Source: Hortus 3) - English
• floppers  (Source: Hortus 3) - English
• good-luck-leaf  (Source: Hortus 3) - English
• lifeplant  (Source: Hortus 3) - English
• Mexican loveplant  (Source: Hortus 3) - English
• miracle-leaf  (Source: Hortus 3) - English
• mother-in-law  (Source: Hortus 3) - English
• tree-of-life  (Source: CRC MedHerbs ed2) - English
• Schwiegermutterpflanze  (Source: Zander ed17) - German
• hoja del aire  (Source: Esp Veg Prom) - Spanish
• fjäderkalankoe  (Source: Kulturvaxtdatabas) - Swedish

Economic Importance:

• Environmental: ornamental (fide Invasive Pl Spec, as Bryophyllum pinnatum)
• Medicines: folklore (fide Pl Res SEAs 12(1):166. 1999, as Bryophyllum pinnatum; CRC MedHerbs ed2, as Bryophyllum pinnatum; Herbs Commerce ed2)
• Vertebrate poisons: mammals (fide Pl Res SEAs 12(1):164. 1999, as Bryophyllum pinnatum)
• Weed: (fide Invasive Pl Spec, as Bryophyllum pinnatum)

Distributional Range:

Native

Africa

• WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: Madagascar


Cultivated (also cult.)

Naturalized

Africa

• MACARONESIA: Cape Verde, Portugal, [Azores, Madeira Islands] Spain [Canary Islands]
• WESTERN INDIAN OCEAN: British Indian Ocean Terr, [Diego Garcia] Mauritius, Reunion, Seychelles

Asia-Temperate

• CHINA: China
• EASTERN ASIA: Japan, [Ryukyu Islands] Taiwan

Asia-Tropical

• INDIAN SUBCONTINENT: Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka
• PAPUASIA: Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands
• MALESIA: Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines

Australasia

• AUSTRALIA: Australia
• NEW ZEALAND: New Zealand

Northern America

• SOUTHEASTERN U.S.A.: United States [Florida]
• SOUTHERN MEXICO: Mexico [Chiapas, Hidalgo, Veracruz, Yucatan]

Pacific

• NORTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: U.S. Outlying Islands, [Midway Islands] United States [Hawaii]
• NORTHWESTERN PACIFIC: Guam, Micronesia, Palau, U.S. Outlying Islands [Wake Island]
• SOUTH-CENTRAL PACIFIC: Cook Islands, French Polynesia
• SOUTHWESTERN PACIFIC: American Samoa, Fiji, Kiribati, [Gilbert Islands] Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Tonga

Southern America

• CARIBBEAN: West Indies
• NORTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: French Guiana, Guyana, Suriname, Venezuela
• BRAZIL: Brazil
• WESTERN SOUTH AMERICA: Ecuador, [Galapagos Islands] Ecuador, [Galapagos Islands] Peru
• SOUTHERN SOUTH AMERICA: Argentina [Corrientes]

References:

1. Acevedo-Rodríguez, P. & M. T. Strong Catalogue of seed plants of the West Indies. Smithsonian Contr. Bot. 98. 2012 (L West Indies)
2. Aldén, B., S. Ryman, & M. Hjertson Svensk Kulturväxtdatabas, SKUD (Swedish Cultivated and Utility Plants Database; online resource on www.skud.info). 2012 (Kulturvaxtdatabas)
3. Bosser, J. M. et al., eds. Flores des Mascareignes. 1976- (F Mascar)
4. Brako, L. & J. L. Zarucchi Catalogue of the flowering plants and gymnosperms of Peru. Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 45. 1993 (L Peru)
5. Correa, J. E. & H. Y. Bernal Especies vegetales promisorias de los paises del Convenio Andres Bello. 1989-1998 (Esp Veg Prom)
6. Duke, J. A. et al. CRC Handbook of medicinal herbs. 2002 (CRC MedHerbs ed2)
7. Erhardt, W. et al. Zander: Handwörterbuch der Pflanzennamen, 17. Auflage. 2002 (Zander ed17)
8. Forzza, R. C. et al., coord. Lista de espécies da flora do Brasil (on-line resource). (L Brasil Online)
9. Funk, V. et al. Checklist of the plants of the Guiana Shield (Venezuela: Amazonas, Bolivar, Delta Amacuro; Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana). Contr. U.S. Natl. Herb. 55:1-584. 2007 (L Guiana Shield)
10. García, J. M. & L. L. Chávez Las Crasuláceas de México. 2003 (Crass Mex)
11. Grierson, A. J. C. & D. J. Long Flora of Bhutan including a record of plants from Sikkim. 1984- (F Bhutan)
12. Hnatiuk, R. J. Census of Australian vascular plants. Australian Flora and Fauna Series No. 11. (L Aust)
13. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion Flora del Conosur. Catálogo de las plantas vasculares. (F ConoSur)
14. Liberty Hyde Bailey Hortorium Hortus third. 1976 (Hortus 3)
15. McGuffin, M., J. T. Kartesz, A. Y. Leung, & A. O. Tucker Herbs of commerce, ed. 2. 2000 (Herbs Commerce ed2)
16. Steenis, C. G. G. J. van, ed. Flora malesiana. 1948- (F Males)

Cite as: USDA, Agricultural Research Service, National Plant Germplasm System. 2024. Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN-Taxonomy).
National Germplasm Resources Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland. URL: http://germoplasma.iniaf.gob.bo/gringlobal/taxonomydetail.aspx?id=21076. Accessed 17 mayo 2024.