Species · genus Curio · Asteraceae

Blue Chalkstick

Curio ficoides (L.) P.V.Heath

Also known as: Flat Chalkstick · Flatleaf Senecio

Growth habit

Unknown

Native range

Cape Provinces

Reference · C. ficoides

Cultivars of C. ficoides

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

No named cultivars catalogued under C. ficoides 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.

Curio ficoides is a leaf-succulent from the dry Cape Provinces of South Africa, with fleshy blue-green leaves that store water against drought. Give it gritty, fast-draining mix and bright light, including some direct sun, and let the soil dry out fully between waterings — water only when the mix is dry all the way through and the leaves begin to feel slightly soft. It rots quickly if kept wet, so err toward neglect.

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

Stem cuttings left to callus, then rooted in dry mix

Fertilizing

Dilute succulent feed once or twice in the growing season

Growth rate

Moderate

Flowering

Small yellow daisy-like flowers, occasional indoors

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Toxic to cats & dogs

String-of-pearls / string-of-bananas (succulent senecio) — stomach upset, vomiting, lethargy. 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.

Add images

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

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Blue Chalkstick 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.