Cliff cotyledon (Cotyledon pendens)

Description

Cotyledon pendens forms many branched and rapidly growing small shrubs with hanging stems, which can reach a length of up to 60 centimeters without inflorescence. The hanging branches form dense curtains. The thin and slightly whitish stems are sparsely covered with hairy glands . At the 7 to 15 millimeters apart knotsBranches are formed. The older, lower branches lignify and reach diameters of up to 5 millimeters. They have a brownish and peeling bark. The succulent, elliptical to elliptic-ovate leaves are cross-shaped. They are wedge-shaped at the base and become 18-25 millimeters long, 10-15 millimeters wide and 7-10 millimeters thick. The gray-green leaf blade is whitish frosted and glandular hairy, later there are no hair anymore. The rounded leaf margin is spotted dark reddish brown and intensely colored towards the tip. The petiole is 25-30 millimeters long.The 50-90 millimeters long, hanging inflorescence consists of a simple Dichasium with two to four single flowers, rarely with only a single flower. There will be a pair of opposing bractsformed, which are arranged alternately with two to three smaller leaves. The hairy inflorescence stalk becomes 30-40 mm long and reaches 2 mm in diameter. It is studded with a leaf-like pair of linear-elliptical bracts that are 5-10 millimeters long and 2.5 millimeters wide. The hairy pedicel is 8-12 millimeters, sometimes up to 18 millimeters long. The triangular, green sepals are close to the flower and are 5 × 5 millimeters in size. The orange-red petals are 40-45 millimeters long and 12-13 millimeters wide and form up to 20 millimeters long cylindrical and slightly curved in the middle tube. The spreading, linear to lanceolate Kronzipfel are 25 × 8 millimeters in size and slightly longer than the tube.Ten upright, yellowish green stamens are formed, standing in two turns. They are 18 to 20 millimeters long and fused in the lower third with the tube. At the adhesion site, a dense hair tufts is formed. The spherical and yellow dust bags are 1.5-2.2 millimeters in size. The transversely elongated and upright Nektarschüppchen are yellowish green and are 2 × 3 millimeters in size. The five, leaning rejuvenating carpels will be 20 millimeters long. The hanging fruit capsule always points away from the rock face.