Species · genus Cotyledon · Crassulaceae

Bear-paws

Cotyledon tomentosa Harv.

Also known as: Fuzzy Pigsears

Growth habit

succulent subshrub

Native range

Cape Provinces

Reference · C. tomentosa

Cultivars of C. tomentosa

The named forms growers keep — each with its own page, each honest about how much we know.

No named cultivars catalogued under C. tomentosa yet. When growers document a stable, named form, it earns its own page here.

Guide

The species-level account. Cultivar pages build on this and say where they differ.

Cotyledon tomentosa is a fuzzy-leaved succulent subshrub from the Cape Provinces of South Africa, adapted to bright, dry, well-drained conditions. Grow it in gritty, fast-draining mix and give it the brightest spot you can, including some direct sun. Water deeply but infrequently, only once the soil has dried out completely and the plump leaves begin to feel slightly soft.

Care recipe

The species record — the baseline every cultivar inherits unless it says otherwise.

Care notes are early — not yet verified

Light: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Water: ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-28d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Direct sun

Water

≈ every 28 days

Humidity

Low — average room

Temperature

10–27 °C

Soil mix

Gritty, fast-draining cactus and succulent mix

Propagation

Leaf or stem cuttings left to callus, then rooted

Fertilizing

Dilute succulent feed once or twice in the growing season

Growth rate

Slow

Flowering

Occasional bell-shaped red-orange flowers in spring

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Toxic to cats & dogs & humans

Cotyledon species in the Crassulaceae contain bufadienolide cardiac glycosides, which can be toxic if ingested. This is where toxicity lives: every cultivar of this species inherits it and none can override it.

Reference images

Every image credited. Licenses link to their deeds.

No reference gallery yet

A few clear photos — habit, a mature leaf, a flower if it blooms — would give this page its eyes.

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Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-28d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (family inference)

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Bear-paws yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — is exactly what keeps this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.