Species · genus Kalanchoe · Crassulaceae

Palm Beachbells

Kalanchoe gastonis-bonnieri Raym.-Hamet & H.Perrier

Also known as: Donkey Ears

Growth habit

succulent biennial or subshrub

Native range

Madagascar

Kalanchoe gastonis-bonnieri — reference photo — no rights reserved · CC0

Cultivars of K. gastonis-bonnieri

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

No named cultivars catalogued under K. gastonis-bonnieri 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 Madagascan Succulent

Kalanchoe gastonis-bonnieri is a succulent plant in the Crassulaceae family, growing as a biennial or subshrub. It belongs to a genus that ranges from annuals to shrubs and trees, generally marked by fleshy foliage and tubular, four-lobed flowers.

Source: RHS

Native to Madagascar

This species comes from northwestern and central Madagascar, where it grows in the seasonally dry tropical biome. It was first described in 1912 by Raymond-Hamet and Henri Perrier. Beyond its native range it has since been introduced to a scattering of places including Florida, Kenya, Senegal, Spain, Cameroon, El Salvador, and Zimbabwe.

Source: Kew

Habit and Classification

As a member of Crassulaceae, this kalanchoe carries the succulent, water-storing tissue typical of the family. Kew notes it has recognised environmental uses and includes two accepted botanical varieties, gastonis-bonnieri and adolphi-engleri.

Source: Kew

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 10-21d)
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

13–27 °C

Soil mix

Gritty, fast-draining cactus and succulent mix

Propagation

Plantlets that form along leaf margins, simply potted up

Fertilizing

Dilute succulent feed monthly in spring and summer

Growth rate

Fast

Flowering

Occasionally sends up tubular bell flowers indoors

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Toxic to cats & dogs

Kalanchoe (Crassulaceae) contain cardiac glycosides (bufadienolides) that are toxic to pets. 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.

Sources: ai:claude-opus-4-8 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (range 10-21d) · ai:claude-fable-5 · ai:claude-opus-4-8 (family inference)

Kept true by its growers

Every fact here carries its source. Grow Palm Beachbells yourself? What you’ve observed — how it drinks, how it holds its color, a name that’s off — and a clear photo of your plant are exactly what keep this page honest. Contributions are reviewed before anything changes.