Forgot to add that if you go to HortiPlex & type in Kalanchoe daigremontiana, the ones I have look like the picture under the name Rayemond-uk. I am interested in cannas, daylilies, hostas, & irises. Also edible stuff like raspberry, blackberry (not wild bramble type), blueberry, cranberry, etc. or just check my list.

I did some digging/research into this. I will not go into all the detail I read & hope that I can convey the info I learned without repeating everything. You can always go looking for yourself! =) First, it is a mistake for Kalanchoe daigremontiana to be called by the common name, Devil's Backbone. But, like many common names, more than one plant (that has just one botanical name-or reclassified, having a new name) can be known by the same common name. In addition, on the Internet, it only takes a few to start calling something by another name ~to make it so! It takes on a domino effect, snowballing, & then you can find it all over the web!! It doesn't mean it is correct. Devil's Backbone is the common name for Pedilanthus tithymaloides (aka Euphorbia tithymaloides). It got its name from having zigzag stems. Euphorbia are known for having a milky, latex sap which can be toxic should be handled with care. It seems there are many references to Kalanchoe daigremontiana as Devil's Backbone on the web (I somehow missed this reference early on in the post, Karen, but now I'm 'thinking w/you on this'). That little detail aside, I still assert that Kalanchoe does NOT have poisonous or toxic SAP. There have been many tests/experiments done (chicks were mentioned) over a number of years by various agencies (several in Australia). Yes, they have found that several Kalanchoe species contain toxic properties (cardiac glycoside-mentioned earlier, & bufadienolides). They have cited cattle/livestock deaths attributed to some of these Kalanchoe. Interesting to note that the most poisonous were the flowerheads (in descending order) of hybrid (Bryophyllum/Kalanchoe daigremontiana x K. tubiflora/delagoensis which I believe is now considered~) Kalanchoe x houghtonii, Kalanchoe pinnata & Kalanchoe tubiflora/delagoensis. The whole plant of Kalanchoe fedtschenkoi is toxic...all of these...IF EATEN...and you would have to eat QUITE A BIT (like cattle do while grazing). They found 20g wet wt per kg body wt would do the trick. Anyone care to translate that to measurements we use more often here in the U.S.? In chicks (2 wk-old Leghorns), they had to eat 12-18 mg per g. of body wt to be poisoned. Using the 1st set of figures, I get this, roughly: If 200 lb. person + 68.2 kg 20g (wet wt) x 68.2kg = 1364g = 5.77 cups (needed to be eaten) There were several Kalanchoes mentioned that could be toxic: daigremontiana, tubiflora (now delagonensis), fedtschenkoi, pinnata & prolifera. But never was any sap mentioned. You would have to consume the plant to be poisoned. There is no sap. I may have goofed in some detail above, but I think you get the jist of it. If you have pets you think will EAT the plants, keep them from it (by whatever means). Also, I grow these types outside, so it's not just an indoor ornamental. I have dogs & a cat. These plants are all over my back yard (weed that they are). My pets don't eat these plants. Also, no, I do not think any of the Crassula ovata plants are poisonous. Hope this helps ease some minds. =) Have a good day! ~Rosemarie

That is an interesting pink, and I like the way the flowers are on different levels. Your picture surprised me because mine produces red flowers. Some people hate this plant because you end up finding its babies everywhere, but I am so fond of it that I have been gathering up all the babies and putting them in one big pot, hoping for a spectacular show come November. I like Kal. tubiflora (or Bryophyllum tubiflorum) even more, as its flowers are reddish orange. Its leaves are different, too--cylindrical, with babies forming at the tips. I also have a big pot of that started, but it wasn't so prolific this year as the daigremontiana.

Well Denise, Since it's you, I'll share the story of my misadventures w/ this plant. 2 Wks after 9/11 Jeff came to NYC for his first visit (w/ an unlabeled suitcase full of pumice no less, which caused him to be called off the plane for a consult w/ the pilot, who was native to San Diego, so he knew of it as a soil amendment to their very clayish soil thank G_d. Can you just picture a suitcase full of small white particles & Jeff trying to explain that away?) So, we were invited to visit Dr. Gerry Barad (of Stapeliad fame) & his lovely wife & fabulous greenhouse(s). Being a kind & generous man, he shared lots of cuttings of various kinds w/ each of us. So we came home, sat on the floor w/ a big box of plant goodies, like it was Xmas morning -- dividing up the spoils, Aloes & Crassulacae for Jeff, Hoyas & Ceropegias, Carralumas for me ... we were left w/ this Apple Green B. cranatum (identical to this posted pic), which Jeff recognized (tho' at the time I didn't). Jeff didn't want it & on telling me what it was, I didn't want it either, but he refused to take it w/ him, so I got stuck w/ it! Was abt 18" tall w/ tons of babies at its base. I think Dr. Barad snuck it in the box while we weren't looking! For a year after, I often withheld water for months at a time; whenever we had a C&S Show I would take it in to show & I would pick 20 plant babies off at a time & give them by the handful to little kids passing thru the Exhibit. I just couldn't quite muster up the guts to actually toss it in the trash!! Evil plants indeed!! BTW, I've fallen in love w/ the Rhipsalis elliptica you gave me, I think its leaf shape is so pretty & graceful, esp. when it's sprouting new leaves -- thanks again D!!