Species · genus Curio · Asteraceae

String of Pearls

Curio rowleyanus (H.Jacobsen) P.V.Heath

Also known as: String-of-beads · String-Of-Beads Senecio

Growth habit

Unknown

Native range

Cape Provinces

Reference · C. rowleyanus

Cultivars of C. rowleyanus

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

No named cultivars catalogued under C. rowleyanus 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.

A trailing succulent from the arid Cape Provinces of South Africa, with bead-like leaves that store water against drought. It wants gritty, fast-draining mix and deep but infrequent watering: let the soil dry almost completely, then water only when the beads begin to look slightly flattened or soft. Give it bright indirect light and good airflow; sitting wet is the surest way to rot it.

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 14-21d)
Humidity: ai:claude-opus-4-8
Soil: ai:claude-fable-5
Care: ai:claude-fable-5

Light

Bright, indirect

Water

≈ every 21 days

Humidity

Low — average room

Temperature

10–27 °C

Soil mix

Gritty, fast-draining cactus and succulent mix

Propagation

Trailing stem cuttings laid on the soil surface to root

Fertilizing

Dilute succulent feed once or twice in the growing season

Growth rate

Moderate

Flowering

Small white brush-like flowers with a cinnamon scent

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.

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Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 14-21d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ASPCA

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow String of Pearls 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.