Flora of New Zealand Series

air plant

Glabrous herb, often forming dense stands; stems simple, concolorous, to c. 70 cm high, prostrate and rooting towards base, otherwise erect. Lvs 1- or 3-foliolate, with petiole to c. 5 cm long, usually opposite. Lamina of simple lf and terminal leaflet usually 6-13 × 4-7.5 cm, 1-2 mm thick, elliptic or broad-elliptic, often folded upwards, otherwise with flat surfaces, green, sometimes reddish green where very exposed; margins purple, prominently crenate, lacking plantlets; base truncate or subcordate; apex rounded or obtuse. Infl. a loose, terminal panicle, to c. 20 cm diam.; main axis to c. 25 cm long. Fls pendulous. Calyx 3-4.2 cm long, broadly cylindric, inflated, green or often green beneath and red above; lobes 5-8 mm long, broadly triangular. Corolla deep red; tube c. 2.8-3.5 cm long, included in calyx; lobes 1-1.5 cm long, triangular, eventually well-exserted from calyx, sharply acute. Stamens c. 2.7 cm long, pale green. Styles 2-2.5 cm long, pale green. Follicles c. 1.5 cm long, beaked. Seeds < 1 mm long, narrow, doubtfully fertile.

K.: Denham Bay (Raoul Id).

Probably Madagascar but long naturalised in other tropical regions 1977

Behind beach on volcanic sand and in light shade of forest, forming dense stands on open ground (Plate 12).

FL Nov-May.

Air plant is very commonly naturalised in the tropical S. Pacific and also occurs wild on Norfolk Id. It was probably introduced to Raoul from one of these regions because the sp. is little grown in N.Z. Although some accounts of B. pinnatum mention lf-borne plantlets as in other spp. mentioned here, these are unconfirmed for N.Z.; B. pinnatum also seems to flower much more freely than these other spp. Air plant has often been treated in Kalanchoe as K. pinnata (Lam.) Pers.