Aeonium urbicum (Dinner Plate Aeonium)

Aeonium urbicum

Dinner Plate Aeonium

Kingdom	Plantae	Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae
Subkingdom	Tracheobionta	Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients
Division	Magnoliophyta	Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms
Class	Magnoliopsida	Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves
Subclass	Rosidae	Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more
Order	Rosales	Rose family and eight others
Family	Crassulaceae	Succulents that store water in leaves
Genus	Aeonium	Means “ageless” (not sure why); plants have a basal rosette of leaves
Species	urbicum

About plant names...

Dinner plate aeonium is so-called because the large rosettes of overlapping, spade-shaped leaves form bowl-shaped clusters. It is native to the Canary Islands of Tenerife and La Gomera.

Identification: This plant forms a rosette up to 18" (45 cm) wide, on a stem as much as 3' (91 cm) high. It has a large, dome-shaped flower cluster for a few weeks each year. The central cluster will not branch unless its central point is damaged.

Photo by Opuntia.

Online References:

Aeonium urbicum on the Stridvall Family Domain

Aeonium urbicum on www.rareplants.de

Aeonium urbicum on www.ingentaconnect.com

Aeonium urbicum on Desert-tropicals.com

Aeonium urbicum description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 15 Feb 2012.

2/24/2010 · San Diego (Quail) Botanic Garden, Encinitas, CA
≈ 27 × 18" (69 × 46 cm) ID is tentative or incomplete

2/24/2010 · San Diego (Quail) Botanic Garden, Encinitas, CA
≈ 3 × 2' (98 × 65 cm) ID is tentative or incomplete

Range: Zones 3-9:

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