Mother of Millions. I think you gave it too much fertlizer though. Share it with all those neighbors you don't care for!! LOL They will never talk to you again. Sorry I don't know it's botanical name. I grew it as a houseplant in NH.

It is a type of Kalanchoe. There are several different types but they all get small plantlets along the edges of the leaves. It spreads quite rapidly. I like it because it is such a different look and quite a conversation piece. I believe it is a native plant of Madagascar. It has beautiful flowers but the plant is toxic to animals. It is a very hardy succulent, drought-tolerant, most of the small plantlets parts will survive. It's very popular in Australia.

Hi,Bill.
You are right it does have miracle healing powers. You can use it on burns and cuts as if it were an aloe. It gets a beautiful flower that attracts hummingbirds.
It is extremely invasive. Each of those small tips on the leaves makes a new plant. My Mother in law warn me about it but I did not heed the warning and now,well, I'll always have it. The two responses on top are correct.
Now you have plants to swap,he he he.
Felix

Does it have a rather interesting scarlet red flower? I've seen something like this in vacant lots and wondered about it, okay, I actually wanted it, but wondered if I should want it. It had a really unusual flower that was a gorgeous scarlet red.

It does have the prettiest little red bell shaped flowers that form in clusters at the top of the plant. It can be invasive but is easily pulled out where not wanted in our Florida soils. You can gather the small plantlets from the leaf edges and broadcast them where ever you want them to fill in, even in a neighbors yard.LOL!

Thanks, all. Haven't seen any flowers on it. Mother of Millions? I guess that is why it is now popping up all over my flower bed. Thought I had discovered something new. Even had my speech to the Botanical Society of America written.

"Dear fellow botanists, I accept this award graciously. The $5,000 will go to pay the car insurance for my daughter, just turned 16, who is driving now. Pray for me."

As weeds go, I kind of like it. It's certainly better than the spanish needle I have popping up everywhere. Hmmm. I'll have to grab some next time I spot it in a vacant lot.

Thanks for posting this! And good luck with that driver!

I'm one who usually likes flowers that spread, but this one makes me run SCREAMING. It IS the mother of millions. Millions and millions of little seedlings that you can never, ever get rid of. Even my husband shudders at the sight of it. I've seen entire vacant LOTS filled solid with it within a few months' time.
Every single one of those little plantlets along the leaves will drop off and root, and begin the whole process again in just a very short time. In other words, it will be the mother to millions, and each of those million will have a million more, and so on and so on. I'd get rid of FAST it myself, but that's just me.

Marcia

Marcia-you make it sound almost evil. Something like the pods from Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956, Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter). I'll make sure it is confined to the pot I have it in. I'll viciously rip out any others I find in my front planter.......Bill

When I was growing up, we called them "alligator tongue," I guess because of all the teeth along the edge. I wanted one after I moved here and there was a lady at the farmers market selling them. All hers were great big and I told her I wanted a much smaller one. She pulled up one out of the ground and gave it to me. :>)

Well you could put it in a pot and keep it on a porch or patio where the little babies dropping won't grow...or just let it spread and pull the little ones as if they are weeds. I like them and used to have one in a pot.

cjc45 - let me know if you want another one - I have a bunch sprouting in my front planter.

Hahahaha...yes, it is EEEEEEEE-vil! The spawn of demons!!! (Or at least of Kevin McCarthy!) Seriously, it is an interesting looking plant, and has a nice bloom. But if you want to keep it from taking it over, I agree with sharbear. Keep concrete or something under the pot so the little plantlets don't drop down onto the dirt. I'm telling you...you will weed hundreds upon hundreds out of your planter. It is astounding how many babies it can produce.

*plant singing here, sounding remarkably like Elvis*

"I'm evil, evil, evil, thas me!
Evil, evil, evil, thas me...
So don't mess aroun', don't mess around with meeeeeeee!"

(That plant is TALENTED too, eh?)

Marcia

I agree with Marcia. I've been trying to get rid of this thing for 10 years, and every time I turn around, it's coming up somewhere else.