Echeveria runyonii | |
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Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Angiosperms |
Clade: | Eudicots |
Order: | Saxifragales |
Family: | Crassulaceae |
Genus: | Echeveria |
Species: | E. runyonii
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Binomial name | |
Echeveria runyonii |
Echeveria runyonii is a species of flowering plant in the family Crassulaceae,[1] that is native to the state of Tamaulipas in Mexico.[2] Several cultivars have been described and cultivated.
Joseph Nelson Rose described Echeveria runyonii in 1935,[1] named in honour of Texas amateur botanist Robert Runyon.[3] Runyon had collected the type specimen from a Matamoros, Tamaulipas garden[4] in 1922.[5][6] Wild populations were unknown until 1990, when one was discovered by the staff of Yucca Do Nursery.[7]
The cytology of Echeveria species is helpful in identification, as many species can be very variable in appearance; E. runyonii has 14 chromosomes.[1]
Echeveria is named for Atanasio Echeverría y Godoy, a botanical illustrator who contributed to Flora Mexicana.[8]
Echeveria runyonii forms a rosette 8–10 cm (3.1–3.9 in) in diameter. Leaves are spatulate-cuneate to oblong-spatulate, truncate to acuminate, and mucronate. They are a glaucous pinkish-white in color and measure 6–8 by 2.5–4 cm (2.4–3.1 by 1.0–1.6 in). The single stem reaches 10 cm (3.9 in) in length or more and a diameter of roughly 1 cm (0.39 in). Inflorescences are 15–20 cm (5.9–7.9 in) tall and have 2 – 3 cincinni, conspicuous bracts, and pedicels approximately 4 mm long. The red flowers have ascending-spreading sepals to 11 mm and pentagonal corollas measuring 19 – 20 × 10 mm.[1]
Echeveria desmetiana has similar-coloured glaucous leaves, but its leaves are wedge-shaped with mucronulate (pointed) tips.[9]
Several named cultivars exist, including 'Texas Rose', 'Dr. Butterfield', 'Lucita', 'Tom Allen', and 'Topsy Turvy'. The last is a mutant form originated in California, with leaves positioned upside-down.[10]