Figure 150. 81. Echeveria viridissima E. Walther. Explanation: (a) flower, x 2; (b) flower from be­low, x 2; (c) inside of petal, x 2; (d) apex of petal, X 8; (e) carpels, x 2; (f) nectary, side view, x 8; (g) nectary, front view, x 8; (h) leaf, x 0.4; (i) bract, X 0.4; (ii) upper bract, x 2. From the original pub­lication (Cactus and Succulent Journal, volume 31, page 22, figure 11).


81. Echeveria viridissima E. Walther.

(Figures 150-151.)


Echeveria viridissima E. Walther, Cactus and Succ. Jour. Amer., vol. 31, p. 22, 1959.

Illustrations. Cactus and Succ. Jour. Amer., vol. 31, pp. 22, 23, figs. 11, 12, 1959.


Glabrous subshrub with numerous ascending to spreading branches, to 20 cm. tall or more; leaves subrosulate, ascending to spreading, obovate to cune-ate, shortly mucronate, flat or shallowly concave above, faintly keeled beneath, to 10 cm. long and 6 cm. broad; inflorescences one or more, arising from below the leaves, erect above, racemose to subspicate in upper portion, sub-paniculate in lower part; peduncle stout, 8 to 12 mm. thick at base; bracts numerous, broadly ovate, mucronate, 35 mm. long, ascending to strongly recurved; some of the lowermost pedicels with two or more flowers, uppermost single-flowered, 4 to 8 mm. long, subangular, with two or three bractlets, these recurved; sepals subequal, ascending to recurved, linear-lanceolate, aristate-acuminate, scarcely united at base, longest to 20 mm. long, faintly keeled beneath; corolla pentagonal, bigibbose, to 16 mm. long and 10 to 13 mm. in diameter; petals sharply keeled, deeply hollowed within at base, at apex slightly spreading, acuminate; nectaries transversely-reniform, to 2.5 mm. wide. Flowers from April to November. Description from living material obtained from the University of California Botanical Garden, Berkeley, California.


Color. Leaves biscay-green, in sun tinged indian-red at edges, apex and on lower surface; peduncle to spectrum-red in sun; bracts as the leaves; sepals biscay-green tinged morocco-red at tips in sun; corolla spectrum-red; petals light orange-yellow inside; carpels clear dull green-yellow; styles morocco-red; nectaries apricot-yellow.


Type. Collected by E. Walther in 1958 from plants cultivated in Univer­sity of California Botanical Garden, Berkeley, from material collected by T. MacDougall (no. 51/B-134) at "Guish-gal," San Pedro Mixtepec, elevation 10,000 feet, Oaxaca (CAS, no. 409883). Clonotype: UCBG 56.805.


Occurrence. Known only from the type locality where the plant grew between and on scattered rocks in nearly full light or partial shade from scat­tered oaks, madronos, etc., accompanied by Villadia sp., a fern with "20 leaflets."


Collections. Type (CAS); clonotypes, P. C. Hutchison in 1959 (CAS, K,MEXU,NY,UC,US).


Remarks. Notable in its exceptionally bright deep green foliage which often assumes brilliant red tints in the sun, and in its bright red flowers, this novelty promises to become popular in gardens, especially if its promise of hardiness, inferred from its high-mountain origin, is realized. In habit, foliage, and inflorescence, this species recalls E. bicolor and E. montana, both of which have much paler foliage and less brightly colored flowers. Also these normally bear only a solitary flower on the lowermost pseudopedicels.


"Guish-gal" is Zapotec for "Fern-twenty," the reference being to a fern with approximately twenty leaflets found at the particular locality (as stated by Mr. T. MacDougall in a letter). An attempt to coin a specific name for this Zapotec word was considered, but abandoned as inadvisable.



Figure 151. 81. Echeveria viridissima E. Walther. From the original publication (Cac­tus and Succulent Journal, volume 31, page 23, figure 12).


© Echeveria, 1972