Sinocrassula yunnanensis

Weird looking but interesting

I think it looks amazing! I wouldn't mind at all if it was mine and it flowered...I'd feel very proud I managed to get it to do so!

What an astonishing thing it is! Succulents can be so weird - it must have surprised even you Hywel!

You just keep on surprising us with all your different cactus and succulents. I hope you do not cut off all those tongues in case that is where the next generation will spring from.

Is this plant any relation to Sempervivums ? They grow
like this.

What an interesting flower Hywel. I think it is wonderful that it flowered for you.

A plant with attitude! LOL

How unusual is that !!!! I like it too, well done getting it to flower :-)

Thank you all for reading about my strange plant, and for your comments.
Those 'tongues' are one of the ugliest things I've seen !

I didn't do anything to get it to flower. It just did it on it's own. I didn't think it would ever move lol ......

Diane, yes Sinocrassula and Sempervivums belong to the same family - Crassulaceae :o)

Hywel I loved it in rossette form and when those weird flat stems appeared with the flower heads but I must say it gave me the willies when they flopped over and as you say looked like huge tongues, fascinating nevertheless.

Its fabulous Hywel, I understand your meaning as to the tongues as I agree its a strange looking one, I have some amongst my collection, I'll be ecstatic if I get some flowers but first I have to get them through the winter....

Thanks Hywel, it was the Sino bit that interersted me.
How these plants spread all over the world is amazing.
I suppose the seeds were carried by birds on their
feathers and claws, as weed seeds are today in this
country.

I actually liked it in flower form Hywel !

Hywel, I thought they looked fantastic. I like the unusual.

Thank you all :)

wow what a flower stalk Hywel.

Ugly is the word for them lol :)

do you think it was a normal flower for the plant?

Diane the sino means the plant has origins in China and the yunnanensis specifies it is from the Yunnan Province in China.

Yes Sandra, it seems to be the normal flower. If you look at Google images you'll see it :)

Hywel I just googled this plant again and if it is any consolation the tongue you do not like seems to be called a crest which immediately makes it seem friendlier. There is quite a lot about this cresting and the cactus world seem to add cristata to your given name to indicate that it has developed a very desirable crest. Some writers would like to see it named 'Sedum indicum subsp Yunnanense'. Whatever its called I have enjoyed seeing it. I like to know names but sometimes 'the experts' can confuse things for us.

Thank you Scotsgran, I wondered if it was a cristate form. I'm glad you like to see it.

I still don't like the look of those tongues :( lol
I have a few cristate cacti but they don't look like tongues.

I think I'll continue to call it what it sais on the labell - Sinocrassula yunnanensis. I'm not very good at remembering changed names.

http://www.bcss.org.uk has some interesting members comments on their forum. google the bcss and then search for sinocrassula yunnanensis. You will be pleased to know that their chairman agrees with you about keeping the name you use. I also googled cristate cactus and found there are three different forms the crest can take. I'd better go and do some work. lol.

Hywel, have only just seen this and whether you call them tongues or crests I think they are truly amazing and fascinating to see.

I agree with the last comment. I thought it was fantastic. What a lot of surprises you get from your cacti. They sit there for ages doing nothing then suddenly wierd & wonderful things happen. Thanks for showing us these strange flowers, they're incredible.

My husband saw this post as I was reading it and was very interested in your photos, Hywel.

He had this to say!! It's a phenomenon called “fasciation” that causes flattened, ribbon-like growth; possibly caused by damage to the tips by insects, mutation, or even chance.

I looked up "fasciation" and there are several interesting articles., including this one from the RHS people:

https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=525

and

http://wimastergardener.org/?q=fasciation

Results can be ugly (!) but are always interesting, evidently!

Eirlys I find the "fascination" shoots on plants interesting. As Hywel says if you look on google pictures this one seems to be good at it.

I'm with you on this one Hywel! ? It looks so mild mannered in the first photo, doesn't it?

Thank you all for your comments, and suggested sites. I shall have a look :)

its amazing :-OO

Always surprising, are they not, we had the same thing happen to one of our succulents, it was a beautiful plant for many years, then it started to grow all over the place, got larger and larger and it looked awful, in the end it fell apart because it was too heavy to support itself....so now it is back to how it used to be for another 10 years!!

Thank you all for reading about my plant.
Some plants don't half surprise us !

I had one, like you said it just sat there doing nothing for more than a couple of years so, unimpressed I threw it out, looking at yours I wish I had kept it now.

The only plants I throw away are garden weeds :)

For me, a plant doesn't have to 'do' anything, especially if I like the look of it.

Hywel I'm with you on that one, perhaps thats why we both are crowded out of house and home, lol....

I think you're right Sue :D lol ....

Oh my sweet lord! I have got to find one of those! That is outstanding Hywel!

Thank you. The remaining rosettes are very small. If they grow next year, I'll send you one.

Don't leave yourself short though..............

We'll see how it goes :)