Species · genus Kalanchoe · Crassulaceae

Penwiper

Kalanchoe marmorata Baker

Growth habit

succulent subshrub or shrub

Native range

DR Congo, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, Sudan-South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda

Reference · K. marmorata

Cultivars of K. marmorata

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

No named cultivars catalogued under K. marmorata 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.

Kalanchoe marmorata is a succulent subshrub from the rocky uplands of east and central Africa, where it stores water in its mottled fleshy leaves and endures long dry spells. Give it gritty, fast-draining mix and bright light; an east or near-south window suits it, with some tolerance for a few hours of direct sun. Water deeply only once the soil has dried through — wait until the top two inches are dry and the leaves feel slightly soft, then water and let it dry out again.

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

Leaf or stem cuttings rooted in dry mix

Fertilizing

Dilute succulent feed monthly in the growing season

Growth rate

Moderate

Flowering

White to pale tubular flowers in winter on mature plants

ToxicityAuthoritative · species

Toxic to cats & dogs

Kalanchoe (Crassulaceae) contains cardiac bufadienolide glycosides toxic to animals. 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 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 Penwiper 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.