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Sempervivum altum |
Houseleeks or Liveforever (Sempervivum) are a genus of about 40 species of succulent plants of the Crassulaceae family which grow in rosettes. Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group Magnoliopsida is the Botanical name for a class of Flowering plants By definition the class will include the family Magnoliaceae, but its The Saxifragales are an order of Dicotyledon Flowering plants In the APG II classification system it includes the following families The Crassulaceae, or orpine family, is a family of Dicotyledons They store water in their Succulent leaves Carl Linnaeus (Latinized as Carolus Linnaeus, also known after his ennoblement as, May 23 new style (13 May old style 1707 who laid the foundations for Sempervivum arachnoideum, sometimes known as cobweb houseleek, is a perennial plant of the genus Sempervivum. Sempervivum macedonicum is a perennial plant of the genus Sempervivum. Sempervivum tectorum ( Common Houseleek) is a perennial plant of the genus Sempervivum. A genus (plural genera from Γένος Latin genus "descent family type gender" is a low-level Taxonomic In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. Succulent plants, also known as succulents or fat plants, are Water -retaining Plants adapted to Arid climate or Soil conditions The Crassulaceae, or orpine family, is a family of Dicotyledons They store water in their Succulent leaves Another name used for some species (and also for some plants in other related genera) is Hen and chicks. Hen and chicks (also known as Hen-and-chickens) is a common name for a group of small succulents belonging to the Flowering plant family
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Habitat
They occur from Morocco to Iran, through the mountains of Iberia, the Alps, Carpathians, Balkan mountains, Turkey, the Armenian mountains, and the Caucasus. Morocco (المغرب "al-Maghrib" officially the Kingdom of Morocco (المملكة المغربية is a country located in North Africa For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Iran topics. The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra The Carpathian Mountains or Carpathians (Carpaţi Czech, Polish and Slovak: Karpaty; Ukrainian: Карпати The Balkan Mountain range ( Bulgarian and Стара планина Stara planina, "Old Mountain" Turkey (Türkiye known officially as the Republic of Turkey ( is a Eurasian Country that stretches Armenia (Հայաստան transliterated: Hayastan,) officially the Republic of Armenia (Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն Hayastani The Caucasus ( also referred to as North Caucasus) is a geopolitical region located between Europe Asia & Middle East Their ability to store water in their thick leaves allows them to live on sunny rocks and stony places in the montane, subalpine and alpine belts.
Subtropical origin
Like some other plants of Southern Europe, their ancestors have likely a subtropical origin. Sempervivum tectorum ( Common Houseleek) is a perennial plant of the genus Sempervivum. The term Southern Europe can have four definitions geographical political climatic phytogeographic Morphologically, they are closely linked with the genera Jovibarba, Aeonium, Greenovia, Aichryson, and Monanthes, occurring mainly in Macaronesia (Azores, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Madeira). Jovibarba ("beard of Jove " is a small Genus of three species of Succulents in the family Crassulaceae, endemic Aeonium is a Genus of about 35 species of Succulent, subtropical Plants of the family Crassulaceae. Aeonium is a Genus of about 35 species of Succulent, subtropical Plants of the family Crassulaceae. Aichryson is a Genus of about 15 species of succulent subtropical plants mostly native to the Canary Islands, with a few in the Azores Monanthes is a Genus of small Succulent, subtropical plants of the Crassulaceae family Macaronesia is a modern collective name for several groups of Islands in the North Atlantic Ocean near Europe and North Africa belonging The Azores ( Açores ɐˈsoɾɨʃ or) is a Portuguese Archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, about 1500 km (950 mi) from The Canary Islands ( English pronunciation kəˈnæriː ˈaɪləndz Spanish: Islas Canarias, ˈizlas kaˈnarjas are a Spanish The Republic of Cape Verde ( Portuguese: Cabo Verde, 'kabu 'veɾdɨ is a Republic located on an Archipelago in the Macaronesia History See also History of Madeira Pre-Portuguese times Pliny mentions certain Purple Islands the position of which with reference to the Some botanists include some or all of these genera within a wider interpretation of Sempervivum, particularly Jovibarba. Jovibarba ("beard of Jove " is a small Genus of three species of Succulents in the family Crassulaceae, endemic
Origin of name
The name "Sempervivum" has its origin in the Latin Semper ("always") and vivus ("living"). Latin ( lingua Latīna, laˈtiːna is an Italic language, historically spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. Sempervivum are called "always living" because this perennial plant keeps its leaves in winter and is very resistant to difficult conditions of growth.
Growth and reproduction
Houseleeks grow as tufts of perennial but monocarpic rosettes. A perennial plant or perennial ( Latin per, "through" annus, "year" is a Plant that lives for more than Monocarpic plants are those that Flower, set Seeds and then die In botany a rosette is a circular arrangement of leaves with all the leaves at a single height Each rosette propagates Asexually by lateral rosettes (offsets, "hen and chicks"), by splitting of the rosette (only Jovibarba heuffelii) or sexually by tiny seeds. Asexual reproduction is a form of reproduction which does not involve Meiosis, Ploidy reduction or Fertilization. See " Offset " for other uses of the term gives rise to tuft of buds at node called offste and adventitious roots below Hen and chicks (also known as Hen-and-chickens) is a common name for a group of small succulents belonging to the Flowering plant family Jovibarba ("beard of Jove " is a small Genus of three species of Succulents in the family Crassulaceae, endemic The Evolution of sexual reproduction is a major puzzle The first Fossilized evidence of sexually reproducing Organisms is from Eukaryotes of the Stenian
Typically, each plant grows for several years before flowering. Their hermaphrodite flowers have first a male stage. Then the stamens curve themselves and spread away from the carpels at the center of the flower. The stamen ( Plural stamina or stamens, from Latin stamen meaning "thread of the warp " is the male A gynoecium (from Ancient Greek gyne, "woman" is the Female reproductive part of a Flower. So Self-pollination is rather difficult. Self-pollination is a form of Pollination that can occur when a Flower has both Stamen and a Carpel in which the Cultivar or The colour of the flowers is reddish, yellowish, pinkish, or - seldom - whitish. In Sempervivum, the flowers are actinomorphic (like a star) and have more than six petals, while in Jovibarba, the flowers are campanulate (bell-shaped) and are pale green-yellow with six petals. Floral symmetry refers to whether and how a Flower can be divided into two or more identical or mirror-image parts Jovibarba ("beard of Jove " is a small Genus of three species of Succulents in the family Crassulaceae, endemic A petal (from Ancient Greek petalon "leaf" "thin plate" regarded as a highly modified leaf is one member or part of the corolla After flowering, the plant dies, usually leaving many offsets it has produced during its life.
Identification
The genus Sempervivum is easy to recognize, but its species are often not easy to identify. Even one single clone can look very different under various growth conditions (modifications) or different times of the year. In opposition to Mutations, modifications are included in the band width of the Genome of an individual creature This genus is obviously in a not yet stabilized phase of its evolution and all its members are very closely linked to each other. eVolution is the third Album by eLDee, it was due to be released in 2008 As a consequence, many subspecies, varieties, and forms were described, without well-defined limits between them. In Zoology, as in other branches of Biology, subspecies is the Taxonomic rank immediately subordinate to a Species. In Botanical nomenclature or biological nomenclature variety is a low-level Taxonomic rank below that of species and signifies members of different populations can This article is about "form" in botany For the use in zoology see Form (zoology. As a second consequence, there are a high frequency of natural hybrids in this genus and the possibility of back-crossings of these. In Biology, hybrid has two meanings The first meaning is the result of interbreeding between two animals or plants of different taxa. Backcrossing is a crossing of a hybrid with one of its Parents or an individual genetically similar to its parent in order to achieve offspring with a genetic identity However, more or less 40 species can be individualized in the whole area of the genus, but there are many more local populations, without nomenclatural valour but with sometimes their own characters. In Biology a population is the collection of inter-breeding organisms of a particular Species; in Sociology
In the Alps, for example, the most distributed species are Sempervivum tectorum (Common Houseleek, sometimes called Sempervivum alpinum), Sempervivum montanum (Mountain Houseleek) and Sempervivum arachnoideum (Cobwebbed Houseleek), each one with several subspecies. Sempervivum tectorum ( Common Houseleek) is a perennial plant of the genus Sempervivum. More local are the yellow-flowered S. wulfenii and S. grandiflorum, and the beautiful Limestone Houseleek (S. calcareum). More rare are S. dolomiticum and mainly S. pittonii. S. pittonii is a small yellow-flowered jewel which grows only on two mountains slopes near Kraubath in the Mur valley in Austria and is very threatened.
On roofs or old walls S. tectorum can be found, more or less wild, very far out of its natural area. It is a very old medicinal and witch-plant. Some superstitious people believe that this plant is able to protect a house from lightning. Superstition ( Latin superstitio, literally "standing over" derived perhaps from standing in awe used in Latin as a unreasonable or excessive belief Lightning is an atmospheric discharge of Electricity, which typically occurs during Thunderstorms and sometimes during volcanic eruptions or
Garden plants
Although their subtropical cousins are very frost-sensitive, Sempervivums are among the most frost-resistant succulents, making them popular garden plants. A garden is a planned space usually outdoors set aside for the display cultivation and enjoyment of Plants and other forms of Nature. They require only moderate water and some protection from extreme exposure to the sun.
Sempervivums grow very well in dry conditions. Despite this if Sempervivums are grown in normal flower beds among other cultivated plants there can be a problem. If the flower beds are not particularly dry other plants may grow more strongly than the Sempervivums and overshadow them. Other plants may need to be removed, cut back or tied out of the way.
"Semp-lovers" are numerous and often have many different cultivars in their collections. A cultivar is a cultivated Plant that has been selected and given a unique name because of its decorative or useful characteristics it is usually distinct from similar Sempervivums are very variable plants and hence hundreds, maybe thousands of cultivars were created, but a lot of them are not much different from each other. The main interest of these cultivars are not their flowers, but form and colour of the rosette-leaves. The most colourful time is generally from March till June.
External links
- http://sempervivophilia.stalikez.info/ from Gérard Dumont (in French and in English; some pages in German and Spanish. Photos of the species in their natural habitats)
- http://www.sempervivum.ru/ (mostly in Russian)
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