Pig's Ear, Round-leafed Navel Wort (Cotyledon orbiculata)

Pig's Ear, Round-leafed Navel Wort
Cotyledon orbiculata

another variety of this same species, in fall, showing huge variation not just in leaf size and color, but general overall plant shape and flower shape. Southern California

Cotyledon orbiculata Candulata Syn. for Cotyledon woodi. Check out photos at
http://public.fotki.com/Grootsholten/plant-collections/cotyledon-othonna
Photos from the marvelous good book Van Ernst v Jaarsveld& Daryl Koutnik and our collection
slide show.

thanks for that info

waterwisegirl,

Thank you for your observation. I checked with the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN), and Integrated Taxonomic Information System, (ITIS) and they all list C. orbiculata as the valid, currently used name.

I can find no information on C. woodi. I then checked C. woodii in case it was a typo, and the only place I could find reference to that Cotyledon species was Aluka, but they didn't reverence any synonymy.

When I clicked on your link above, I got taken to a personal photo hosting site, but I got the message 'Member not found'.

Can you be a little more specific as to why you think this photo is incorrectly placed and/or identified and also some links to references that back this up? I'm sorry, but I'm not finding anything that supports moving this photo or that the current nomenclature is incorrect.

Thanks for any assistance you can offer.

Happy Gardening,
Joan

Apparently there are only 5 varieties of Cotyledon orbiculata? I want to find these photos. I personally am trying to identify 8 varieties of Cotyledon orbiculata that I have. There seems to be a book written about Cotyledons showing more varieties than just 5. Google (Cotyledon orbiculata Kirstenbosch), then click on (Cotyledon+Othonna album/Cok & Ine Grootsholten). They photographed pictures from their book to help someone identify their Cotyledons. Even Palmbob has a Cotyledon that he thinks is a Cotyledon oblonga which I also have and I thought it was a Cotyledon papillaris and now I'm wondering if it is a Cotyledon orbiculata Orbiculata.

We have dozens of forums where registered members provide a wealth of knowledge, experience and information to one another, including a free forum just for plant identification here: http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/f/plantid/all/ That would be the best place to post a photo of your plants to obtain identification. Not many people watch the PlantFile photo threads, but lots of people frequent the identification forum.

What about my first part- Cotyledon orbiculata Candulata? Did you find and check out the photographs of the pages from the book identifying this as such and what do you think?

I did look at that photo gallery. I'm having a hard time figuring out what it is that you are asking though. Are you saying that this photo resembles Cotyledon papillaris or Cotyledon oblonga?

Palmbob, here is a link to the page http://public.fotki.com/Grootscholten/plant-collections/cotyledon-othonna/ Do you have any thoughts on this?

no I don't

I was trying to explain that if you google this word (Cotyledon orbiculata Kirstenbosch) then you will see the 2nd site titled: Cotyledon+Othonna Album/Cok&Ine Grootscholten.Succulent.Coll.
at public.fotki.com/grootscholten/plant-collections/cotyledon+othonna/

There you see they photographed pages - "special for Rosemarie; photos from the marvelous good book VanErnst v. Jaarsveld & Daryle Koutnik and some of our collection."

Apparently here Palmbob's Cotyledon orbiculata Orbiculata is listed in the Cotyledon book as Cotyledon orbiculata 'Dactylopsis' which makes sense as the commom name is Finger Aloe. Photos 1, 2, 3, 29 of the slideshow. Desert-tropicals.com listed this Finger Aloe as Cotyledon 'Mr. Butterfield.'

Here also at this public fokti site is Palmbob's Cotyledon 'Oophyla' which is listed as Cotyledon orbiculata Orbiculata. Photos 8, 24, 35 of the slideshow. I have seen this plant on the web also called Cotyledon papillaris.

Here also is Palmbob's Huntington garden another form flowering Mid September which is listed as both Cotyledon orbiculata Candulata and Cotyledon woodii photo 28. See also the slideshow photos 27, 28, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53 and photo 53 calls it Cotyledon woodsii. Just wanted to mention that I saw this variety here at this site and it seemed named OK.

But, Desert-tropicals.com also said Cotyledon woodii is AKA Tylecodon schaeferanus AKA Cotyledon sinus-alexandri which I have. So, I'm trying to figure out if Palmbob's Cotyledon orbiculata from Huntington is my Cotyledon sinus-alexandri AKA Tylecodon schaeferanus or Cotyledon woodii or Cotyledon orbiculata Candulata. Which is the real name?

So, I'm confused and want a positive ID on the Finger Aloe, the Cigarette Aloe, common names for both of these two plants, plus the one called another form at Huntington Gardens. Or where is a good definitive book on Cotyledon orbiculata species as I have several different varieties, but really all I am concerned about is these three that are causing my confusion. I know what they look like and I know we are talking about the same three, but which are their real names?

It would help if you could post the photos on the identification forum so we could see the photos of the plants to help identify them. It's nearly impossible to identify your plants in the manner you describe. Once an identity is determined, then we can work on the synonyms and common names.

I spoke with an expert who referred me to this link
http://www.amjbot.org/cgi/reprint/92/7/1170.pdf

tried to read that, but was pretty difficult.. not sure what the conclusion was, either.. .and, of course, no photos

I guess I have to buy the book 'Cotyledon and Tylecodon' by Ernst Van Jaarsveld and Dale Koutnik, published in 2004 by Umdaus Press. Yikes. 78 Euros! Ernst Van Jaarsveld will be at next months CSSA meeting in Tucson, AZ. There are these 11 recognized species- Cotyledon velutina, Cotyledon woodii, Cotyledon barbeyi, Cotyledon campanulata, Cotyledon elisseae, Cotyledon papillaris, Cotyledon cuneata, Cotyledon tomentosa variety tomentosa, Cotyledon tomentosa variety ladismithiensis, Cotyledon adscendens 1 & 2, and, of course, Cotyledon orbiculata with 5 recognized varieties Cotyledon orbiculata v. Orbiculata, Cotyledon orbiculata v. Flanaganii, Cotyledon orbiculata v. Spuria, Cotyledon orbiculata v. Oblonga 1 &2, and Cotyledon orbiculata v. Dactylopsis. The problem with Cotyledon orbiculata is that the 5 varieties overlap extensively. Cotyledon orbiculata now includes as many as 11 species recognized historically and numerous local forms. This is "the most complex species in Crassulacea." Parts of this book as I mentioned before were photographed and put on the website Cotyledon+Othonna Album at http://www.public.fotki.com/Grootscholten/plant-collections/cotyledon-othonna/ Again, that's where I saw the photo of this plant pictured here that started this thread where it was called Cotyledon woodii.