A Few Oddities Pt. 2, by Fred Dortort Begonias may seem even less likely candidates for inclusion among succulent plants than Peperomias, but there are a few South American species that approach the physical modifications that enable a plant to be called a succulent. One, B. peltata, from Peru (formerly called B. incana), could reasonably be described as a leaf succulent. When grown correctly (that is to say, like a succulent, with bright light, very fast draining soil, and limited water), its leaves become quite thick, begonia shaped but covered with a dense, almost furry grayish-white covering. Its somewhat thickened stems also manage a slight degree of succulence, but no more than many other Begonia species. Brazil is home to several species of somewhat succulent begonias as well. One of these, Begonia venosa, rather resembles B. peltata, with similarly whitish, scurfy, but somewhat less succulent leaves, and stems, in contrast, that are a bit more succulent. The UCBG collection further includes an unidentified Brazilian species with definitely succulent stems and slightly reduced, but otherwise unremarkable leaves. Most likely there are other similar species native to seasonally dry parts of Brazil and other South American countries. Though perhaps not as intriguing as the more specialized peperomias, these plants nonetheless are interesting examples of how a generally moistgrowing tropical genus manages to adapt to much drier conditions. Much the same could be said about the somewhat succulent members of the Commelinaceae, the "Wandering Jew" family. These are mostly small creeping or vining plants, some adapted to temperate conditions, more frequently to life in the tropics. Among the tropical species, some have adapted an epiphytic habit and look identical to many bromeliads, with leaves that form a waterholding vase. Others have somewhat thickened leaves and approach a succulent appearance. One of these is Callisia macdougallii, a small vining plant with quite thick, triangular leaves marked with white stripes, which produces small but extremely fragrant white flowers. This is a plant from southern Mexico, while another species, the wide ranging Tradescantia navicularis, manages to thrive in the northeastern Mexican Chihuahuan Desert, sharing its habitat with Thelocactus and Gymnocactus species and other truly arid-growing plants. T. navicularis can become a somewhat rampant, not noticeably succulent grower if given too lush conditions, but in habitat its short, alternate leaves, shaped something like a deep channeled rowboat, are quite thickened and the plants themselves are dwarfed and compressed. I've seen them growing next to another member of the family whose identity I'm not completely sure of, with longer, more widely spaced, bluish-purple slightly ciliate leaves, fairly closely resembling the East African Cyanotis somaliensis, a species with elongated, slightly succulent, hairy leaves distributed along succulent stems. Finally, I've recently seen pictures from habitat of a plant, tentatively identified as Tradescantia deltoideodonta, from Madagascar, that looks something like a sparsely leafed, silvery Dyckia or oddly clustering aloe, a very interesting species that I haven't been able to find anything about. If it is in fact a Tradescantia, it's just another reminder that there are things out there still waiting to be discovered, or at least to be brought into cultivation. Finally, a few stray members of another large family, Araceae, could reasonably be called succulents, although in most cases with certain qualifications. This large family that includes many commonly grown indoor plants, including genera such as Philodendron, Anthurium, Syngonium, Monstera and Spathiphyllum, consists to a large degree of tropical climbers, epiphytes, hemi-epiphytes (plants that start in the soil, but climb, eventually lose contact with the ground, and live thereafter as epiphytes) as well as terrestrial inhabitants of the rain forest understory. A number of aroid genera, however, include plants with tuberous roots (Colocasia, for instance, the taro plant). Some of these, which grow in tropical climates with a seasonal relatively dry period, may lose their above ground parts entirely and withdraw into their underground tubers to await the rains. The often gigantic Amorphophallus is an example of an aroid with this form of growth, shared by more temperate zone plants such as Arum and Arisaema. Other, less well know tropical aroids from definitely drier (though still tropical) regions, include Dracontium, a plant that when in growth somewhat resembles a multilobed philodendron, but which disappears under the earth during the dry season. Similar, with very heavy, almost succulent, but non-lobed leaves and a strikingly fleshlike inflorescence (somewhat similar to the fly-attracting inflorescences of the arums), Synandrospadix vermitoxicus, from seasonally dry, mid-altitude parts of Bolivia, is another little known aroid that responds to nearly bone-dry conditions during its winter dormant period. A unique aroid that meshes better with our normal concept of a succulent plant is the East African Zamioculcas zamiifolia, in which a series of thickly swollen succulent stems bearing opposing leaves, grow from a central root stalk. In the wild, it receives a good deal of rainfall during the wet season, but has to withstand quite dry winters, during which time if often drops many of its leaves. In cultivation, if given more water (but always with fast draining soil), it will grow taller, lusher and more quickly, though it will lose some of its natural character. It can survive a lot of neglect, and in the last few years it's become a widely grown, though little recognized plant, as the result of mass production by tissue culture. Since it doesn't look much like a typical aroid, or anything else for that matter, it's apparently been sold as a palm, a cycad, even an orchid—to those unfamiliar with it, it may look more like a plastic plant than anything else, but it actually is a pretty interesting species, the only member of its genus. Several philodendrons have adapted to life on the South American savannahs, tolerating several rainless months a year, but none of these often arborescent, multi-lobed leaf bearing philodendrons correspond to anybody's idea of a succulent plant. A couple of purely epiphytic species, however, have had to develop a certain degree of succulence in order to survive in their treetop environments, where things quickly dry out no matter how high the rainfall. The most interesting species of these tree top dwellers is the somewhat taxonomically confused species apparently most accurately called Philodendron martianum, though most frequently encountered as P. cannifolium. This species, native to north-eastern South American where it lives at the tops of the tallest trees, has developed strikingly succulent petioles, (the stalked bases of its leaves). These have become quite large, and very thick, larger than the leaves themselves, and the plants look a bit like a cattleya orchid with its large pseudobulbs and single leaf. If grown under more typical philodendron conditions, the leaves will grow larger and lose their red tinge, and though the swollen petioles remain, the plants look much less unusual. If given more natural conditions of very bright light and very rapidly draining soil (an orchid mix, for example), the plants will look much more natural as well as unusual. P. martianum probably is not a good plant for a desert greenhouse as it responds well to frequent watering (it probably receives a minimum of one hundred inches of rain a year in the wild), but it would be an appropriate companion for a collection of the other odd, epiphytic succulent plants that exist in somewhat similar ecological niches here and there in the world. I'll conclude this column by mentioning some members of another family likely to be overlooked by succulent growers, the Orchid family. Among the thousands of tropical epiphytes and lithophytes (growing on rocks), quite a few have developed thick water storing leaves and pseudobulbs. Some of these, such as the small, terete-leafed genus, Leptotes, can endure considerable drought, and along with some of the Mexican laelias and Brazilian lithophytic laelias (currently in a state of taxonomic flux) have undergone modifications that bring them quite close to a kind of succulent morphology. Several Old World terrestrial plants, however, have taken this process even further, and the genus Oeceoclades, with rounded or pearshaped pseudobulbs and leathery, usually pink and gray mottled leaves has even entered the world of succulent trade—several have been offered by I.S.I. over the last few years. They're interesting oddities, one, O. spathulifera, even has reasonably large, attractive orchid-looking flowers. A relative of theirs, from northeast Africa, often growing terrestriallyin quite arid areas, Eulophia petersii, develops fairly good sized, upright pseudobulbs and heavy, quite succulent, sword shaped leaves. It grows in clumps near aloes, and from a distance might be mistaken for an aloe. These orchids will do well in a slightly richer than average succulent mix, such as one suitable for echeverias, and will respond to similar treatment, very bright light, water about once a week in summer, every three weeks or so winter. These odd succulents and semi-succulents deserve to be better known as examples of how adaptation to changing environmental circumstances can cause great physical modifications even in members of plant families with little apparent predisposition to succulent body types and life styles.