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Air plant (Kalanchoe pinnata)

Dlium Air plant (Kalanchoe pinnata)

Air plant (Kalanchoe pinnata) is plant species in Crassulaceae, tropical, long-lived and succulent herbs that are able to live in dry places and are usually on rocky slopes, famous by the method of reproduction through shoots that grow on leaves.

K. pinnata has a taproot, but propagation using cuttings makes this plant have fibrous roots that emerge from the ends of the stems. The roots are dark brown, while young roots are lighter. It grows tall and has many branches, rather square, green or purple, soft and broad.







Leaves have a length of 5-20 cm, width 2.5-25 cm, oval or round with corrugated edges and purple, blunt ends, base rounded, bare surface, bright green or purple, contains a lot of water and fleshy. The leaves are used for propagation which produces adventitious shoots.

Compound flowers with a funnel-shaped crown, red and attached petals, short and ovoid or lanceolate crowns, eight stamens, long pistil stems and rectangular-shaped scales. The fruit is purple with a white dot on the inside and cylindrical. The seeds are square shaped, small and have a slightly sour taste.

This species grows on the edge of ravines, roadsides and places with rocky soil in hot and dry areas. It grows from the lowlands to an elevation of 2000 meters, rainfall is 1000-2000 mm/year and temperature is 22.5C.

This plant contains alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, sitosterol, ɑ-amyrin, β-amyrin acetate, bryophyllin A, arachidic acid, astragalin, benzenoid, behenic acid, steroids, butadienolides. Often used to treat bruises, antipyretic, stomach pain, ulcers, anti-rheumatic, hemorrhoids, anti-cancer and fever.

TAXON

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Crassulaceae
Subfamily: Kalanchoideae
Genus: Kalanchoe Bryophyllum Adans. in Fam. Pl. 2: 248 (1763)
Subgenus: Bryophyllum
Species: Kalanchoe pinnata (Lam.) Pers. in Syn. Pl. 1: 446 (1805)

HOMOTYPIC SYNONYMS

Bryophyllum pinnatum (Lam.) Oken in Allg. Naturgesch. 3(3): 1966 (1841)
Cotyledon pinnata Lam. in Encycl. 2: 141 (1786)
Crassula pinnata (Lam.) L.f. in Suppl. Pl.: 191 (1782)
Kalanchoe pinnata var. genuina Raym.-Hamet in Ann. Mus. Colon. Marseille, sér. 3, 3: 85 (1915)
Vereia pinnata (Lam.) Spreng. in Syst. Veg., ed. 16. 2: 260 (1825)

HETEROTYPIC SYNONYMS

Baumgartenia sobolifera Tratt. in Freye Auswahl Pflanzenabbild.: n.° 619 (1816)
Bryophyllum calcicola (H.Perrier) V.V.Byalt in Novosti Sist. Vyssh. Rast. 32: 51 (2000)
Bryophyllum calycinum Salisb. in Parad. Lond. 1: t. 3 (1805)
Bryophyllum germinans Blanco in Fl. Filip., ed. 2.: 220 (1845)
Bryophyllum pinnatum simplicifolium Kuntze in Revis. Gen. Pl. 1: 228 (1891)
Cotyledon calycina (Salisb.) B.Heyne in Trans. Linn. Soc. London 11: 213 (1815 publ. 1816)
Cotyledon calyculata Sol. ex Sims in Bot. Mag. 34: t. 1409 (1811)
Cotyledon rhizophylla Roxb. in Fl. Ind. 2: 456 (1824)
Crassuvia floripendia Comm. ex Lam. (1786)
Kalanchoe calcicola (H.Perrier) Boiteau in P.L.Boiteau & L.Allorge, Kalanchoe Madagascar: 132 (1995)
Kalanchoe floripendula Steud. in Nomencl. Bot., ed. 2. 1: 252 (1840)
Kalanchoe pinnata var. calcicola H.Perrier in Arch. Bot. Bull. Mens. 2: 21 (1928)
Kalanchoe pinnata var. floripendula Pers. in Syn. Pl. 1: 446 (1805)

PUBLICATIONS

Barthelat, F. (2019). La flore illustrée de Mayotte: 1-687. Biotope éditions.

Chayamarit, K. & al. (eds.) (2024). Flora of Thailand 16(3): 749-837. The Forest Herbarium, Royal Forest Department.

Fosberg, F.R., Sachet, M.-H., Oliver, R. (1979). A geographical checklist of the Micronesian Dicotyledonae. Micronesica; Journal of the College of Guam 15: 41-295.

Gosline, G., Bidault, E., van der Burgt, X., Cahen, D., Challen, G., Condé, N., Couch, C., Couvreur, T.L.P., Dagallier, L.M.J., Darbyshire, I., Dawson, S., Doré, T.S., Goyder, D., Grall, A., Haba, P., Haba, P., Harris, D., Hind, D.J.N., Jongkind, & al. (2023). A Taxonomically-verified and Vouchered Checklist of the Vascular Plants of the Republic of Guinea. Nature, scientific data 10, Article number: 327: [1]-[12].

Grierson, A.J.C. & Long, D.G. (1987). Flora of Bhutan 1(3): 466-834. Royal Botanic Gardens, Edinburgh.

Kotiya, A., Solanki, Y. & Reddy, G.V. (2020). Flora of Rajasthan: 1-769. Rajasthan state biodiversity board.

Kress, W.J., DeFilipps, R.A., Farr, E. & Kyi, D.Y.Y. (2003). A Checklist of the Trees, Shrubs, Herbs and Climbers of Myanmar. Contributions from the United States National Herbarium 45: 1-590. Smithsonian Institution.

Lorence, D.H. & Wagnwe, W.L. (2020). Flora of the Marquesas Islands 2: 413-1135. National Tropical Botanic Garden, Smithsonian, DRPF.

Lê, T.C. (2003). Danh lục các loài thực vật Việt Nam 2: 1-1203. Hà Nội : Nhà xuất bản Nông nghiệp.

Muer, T., Sauerbier, H. & Cabrara Calixto, F. (2020). Die Farn- und Blütenpflanzen Madeiras: 1-792. Verlag und Versandbuchhandlung Andreas Kleinsteuber.

Nurtjahya, E. & al. (2026). Flowering Plants of Bangka Island: Native and Introduced. Acta Botanica Hungarica 68: 127-156.

Plunkett, G.M., Ranker, T.A., Sam, C. & Balick, M.J. (2022). Towards a checklist of the vascular flora of Vanuatu. Candollea 77: 105-118.

Sachet, M.-H. (1969). List of vascular flora of Rangiroa. Atoll Research Bulletin 125: 33-44.

Sauerbier, H., Cabrera Calixto, F. & Muer, T. (2023). Flora Vascular de Canarias: 1-1514. Turquesa.

Schäfer, H. (2021). Flora of the Azores a field guide: 1-445. Margraf Publishers GmbH.

Singh, V., Singh, P. & Dash, S.S. (eds.) (2021). Flora of India 9: 1-482. Botanical Survey of India.

Smith, G.F., Figueiredo, E. & van Wyk, A.E. (2019). Kalanchoe [Crassulaceae] in southern Africa: 1-328. Academic Press, Elsevier.

Turner, I.M. (1995). A catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Malaya. Gardens' Bulletin Singapore 47(1): 1-346.

Van Steenis, C.G.G.J. (ed.) (1948-1954). Flora Malesiana 4: 1-631. Noordhoff-Kolff N.V., Djakarta.

Wester, L. (1985). Checklist of the vascular plants of the Northern Line Islands. Atoll Research Bulletin 287: 1-38.

Whistler, A. (2018). Flora of Tokelau: 1-126. Isle Botanica, Honolulu.

Whistler, W.A. (2022). Flora of Samoa Flowering Plants: 1-930. National Tropical Botanicl Garden. Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.

Zuloaga, F.O., Morrone, O. , Belgrano, M.J., Marticorena, C. & Marchesi, E. (eds.) (2008). Catálogo de las Plantas Vasculares del Cono Sur. Monographs in Systematic Botany from the Missouri Botanical Garden 107: 1-3348. Missouri Botanical Garden.

VERNACULAR NAME

Aceh: Sidingin beueu
Bengali: কপ পাতা Kop pata
Brunei: Bendingin, Serigen
Burmese: Yoekiyapinba
Chinese (simplified): 落地生根
Chinese (traditional): 落地生根
Danish: Klokkebryophyllum
English: Air plant, Donkey ears, Life plant, Leaf of life, Resurrection plant, Canterbury bells, Cathedral bells, Floppers, Miracle leaf, Goethe plant, Life plant, Green mother of millions, Love bush
Filipino: Karitana, abisrana, katakataka
Finnish: Sulkaitulehti
French: Kalanchoé penné
Guangdong: 落地生根
Hindi: अमर पोई - ज़ख्म हियाल Amar poi, Zakham hiyal
Hong Kong: 落地生根
Indonesian: Cocor bebek, Sosor bebek
Japanese: セイロンベンケイ
Java: Cocor bebek, Sosor bebek, Suru bebek, Teres
Lao: ພູນໄຕ - ພູນໂປ Poun tay, Poun po
Macao: 落地生根
Malayalam: Elamarunna, Aakasachedi, Chodukkuchedi, Elachedi, Elamulachi, Ilamarunnu, Ilamulachi, Ilayilmelthyi, Kalliyilachedi, Punnuchedi
Malaysia: Sedingin, Seringin, Setawar padang
Manipuri: Manahidak
Marathi: Panphuti
Melayu: Daun sejuk
Mizo: Hnahchhah
Oria: Amarpoi, Hemkakri, Basampatri
Otomí: Caxi potei
Polish: Żyworódka pierzasta
Portuguese: Saião
Russian: Каланхоэ перистое
Slovak: Kalanchoa perovitá
Spanish: Hoja del aire, Tronadora de Madagascar, Hoja del aire de Madagascar
Sumatera: Daun sejuk
Sunda: Buntiris
Taiwan: 落地生根
Tamil: ருணக்கள்ளி Runakkalli
Telugu: Hasthibhaksha, Simajamuda
Thai: คว่ำตายหงายเป็น
Urdu: زخمحیات Zakhmhaiyat

Aryo Bandoro
Dlium TheDlium
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Dlium

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