Aeonium urbicum Photo by: © Plantemania
Growing habit, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, 14 February 2018.
Origin and Habitat: Aeonium urbicum is native to the Island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands off the western coast of Africa and belonging to Spain. Plants from Gomera formerly identified as A. urbicum have recently been described as Aeonium appendiculatum.
Altitude range. Up to 1900 metres above sea level.
Habitat and ecology. A. urbicum is wide-spread on the open, very dry areas of the island on rocks, mountain ridges, and old roofs. it is able to grow in smaller soil-packets in rock areas, but needs deep soil for optimal growth.
Synonyms:
See all synonyms of Aeonium urbicum
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Accepted name in llifle Database:Aeonium urbicum (C.Sm. ex Hornem.) Webb & Berthel.Hist. Nat. Iles Canaries (Phytogr.). 2(1) 194 184Synonymy: 4
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Description: Aeonium urbicum is a perennial monocarpic (that flower, set seeds and then die) unbranched (or rarely few-branched) subshrubs to 2 metres high, similar to Aeonium webbii. Its has huge "dinner plate" rosettes spanning 15 to 30 centimetres with loosely arranged, pale green leaves. It is an incredible succulent that at flowering time makes one of the biggest flowering heads you will ever see. Flowers are pink to greenish white. It owes its name Urbicum to the fact that in its native home it grows on the roofs of houses in towns and villages.
Branches: Ascending, simple or slightly branched, to 6 cm in diameter, glabrous but rough when young, reticulateup to 1 m tall .
Rosette: Terminal, loose, rather flattish, 15-32 cm in diameter.
Leaves: 8-22 cm long, 3-5.5 cm wide, 4-7 mm thick, fleshy, yellowish-green to dark green, variously reddish variegated, obovate-spatulate or oblanceolate, apically acuminate, basally cuneate, glaucous or green, glabrate or puberulent, margin with with reddish violet margins and few to several straight cilia (0.5-1 mm long),.
Inflorescence: Large, terminal, pyramidal or dome-shaped, 15-75 tall, 10-45 cm in diameter. Peduncle 3-15 cm long.
Flowers: Numerous 8- to 10-merous; Pedicels 2-6 mm long, glabrous. Sepals glabrous. Petals 7-10 mm long., 1.2-2 mm wide, lanceolate, acuminate, greenish white or whitish, occasionally reddish variegated. Filaments glabrous.
Bibliography: Major references and further lectures
1) Reto Nyffeler: Aeonium urbicum. In: Urs Eggli “Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants: Crassulaceae” Springer Berlin Heidelberg, 05/Nov/2012
2) Peter Loewer “Solving Deer Problems: How to Deerproof Your Yard and Garden” Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., 16 June 2015
3) Ho-yih Liu, “Systematics of Aeonium (Crassulaceae)” National Museum of Natural Science, 1989
4) A. Cort Sinnes, “Sunset house plants” Lane Pub. Co., 1 set 1983
5) Werner Rauh, “The Wonderful World of Succulents: Cultivation and Description of Selected Succulent Plants Other Than Cacti” Smithsonian Institution Press, 1984
6) Aeonium urbicum in: “Desert”, Volume 1 1929
7) Bañares Baudet, Á. , "Notes on the taxonomy of Aeonium urbicum and A. appendiculatum sp. nova (Crassulaceae)", Willdenowia, 29: 95–103, 1999
