Origin and Habitat: Widespread in southwestern Madagascar.
Habitat: Grows in xerophyte forests on various soils.

• Kalanchoe beharensis Drake

• Kalanchoe beharensis Drake
• Kalanchoe beharensis var. aureo-aeneus H.Jacobsen
• Kalanchoe beharensis var. subnuda H.Jacobsen
• Kalanchoe beharensis var. nuda hort.
• Kalanchoe beharensis cv. Slick
• Kalanchoe van-tieghemii Raym.-Hamet

• Kalanchoe beharensis cv. Fang
• Kalanchoe cv. Fang
• Kalanchoe beharensis cv. Roseleaf
• Kalanchoe cv. Rose leaf

Description: Kalanchoe beharensisSN|23038]]SN|23038]] is a very large succulents shrub with a unique grotesque shape. Its leaves are soft as velvet and covered with a protective bloom. Under the right conditions it can attain the proportions of a small tree, reaching 3 m in height. Unlike most species of the section Bryophyllum, few adventitious buds are produced. It is very variable.
Stem: Usually simple below and branched above, slender, succulent, becoming hard and woody, notched, pubescent with brownish hairs, 2-12 cm in diameter and with peculiar scars left where the leaf petiole where attached to it.
Leaves: Usually crowded at the tips of branches, opposite, petiolate, fleshy, triangular, auricled, nearly hastate or peltate and irregularly lobed and crimped at the edges, 8-40 cm long and 7-35 cm wide. Blades olive-green to dark green, surface variable from glabrous and pruinose to completely covered with dense felt-like glandular hairs with mature leaves having a rusty colour on top and silvery underneath.
Inflorescences: Terminal in the leaves' axils about 50–60 cm high, forming a branched, many flowers, panicle 20-30 cm tall.
Flowers: Small, numerous red-orange or yellowish. They are not particularly showy on short pedicels (stalks). The calyx is 7 mm long with lobes that are oblong and acuminate. The corolla tube is urn shaped and 7 mm long.
Blooming season: In spring to summer.

Bibliography: Major references and further lectures
1) Forest & Kim Starr “Kalanchoe beharensis (Velvet leaf, felt bush, Napoleon's hat)”. Plants of Hawaii. <http://www.starrenvironmental.com>. Web. 27 Sep. 2014.
2) San Marcos Growers contributors “Kalanchoe beharensis - Velvet Elephant Ear” San Marcos Growers <http://www.smgrowers.com>. Web. 27 Sep. 2014.
3) Gordon D. Rowley “The illustrated encyclopedia of succulents” Crown Publishers, 01/Aug/1978
4) Eggli, Urs “Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants, Crassulaceae Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants.” Springer, Berlin 2002
5) Stuart Max Walters “The European Garden Flora: Dicotyledons” (Part I) Cambridge University Press, 1989
6) Hermann Jacobsen “A handbook of succulent plants: descriptions, synonyms, and cultural details for succulents other than Cactaceae” Volume 1 Blandford Press, 1960
7) Werner Rauh “The Wonderful World of Succulents: Cultivation and Description of Selected Succulent Plants Other Than Cacti” Smithsonian Institution Press, 1984
8) Wikipedia contributors. "Kalanchoe beharensis." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia, 20 May. 2013. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.
9) Lemke, Cal. “Kalanchoe beharensis - Elephant's Ear Kalanchoe.” University of Oklahoma Department of Botany and Microbiology. <http://www.plantoftheweek.org/week292.shtml>. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.
10) "Kalanchoe beharensis." Pacific Islands Ecosystems at risk. 10 Feb. 2005. 5 May 2009 <http://www.hear.org/pier/species/kalanchoe_beharensis.htm>.
11) "RHS Plant Selector - Kalanchoe beharensis - Feltbush". <www.rhs.org.uk/plants/details?plantid=1085> Royal Horticultural Society. Web. 16 Oct. 2014.
12) Allorge-Boiteau, L. “Les Kalanchoe arborescents du sud de Madagascar.” Succulentes (France) 18(2): 8–17. 1995.
13) Boiteau, P. L. & L. Allorge. “Kalanchoe Madagascar”. Karthala, Paris1995
14) Descoings, B. “Portraits de Succulentes II. Kalanchoe beharensis” Drake. J. Bot. Soc. Bot. France 3: 26. 1997
15) Drake del Castillo, E. “Note sur les plantes recueillies par M. Guillaume Grandidier, dans le Sud de Madagascar, en 1898 et 1901” Bull. Mus. Hist. Nat. (Paris) 9: 35–46, 96–99.1903
16) Hamet, R. “Monographie du genre Kalanchoe.” Bull. Herb. Boissier, sér. 2, 8: 17–48.1908
17) Jahandiez, A. “Kalanchoe ornementaux de Madagascar.” Rev. Hort. 102: 32–33. 1930
18) Schatz, G. E., S. Andriambololonera, Andrianarivelo, M. W. Callmander, Faranirina, P. P. Lowry, P. B. Phillipson, Rabarimanarivo, J. I. Raharilala, Rajaonary, Rakotonirina, R. H. Ramananjanahary, B. Ramandimbisoa, A. Randrianasolo, N Ravololomanana, Z.S. Rogers, C.M. Taylor & G. A. Wahlert. “Catalogue of the Vascular Plants of Madagascar.” Monogr. Syst. Bot. Missouri Bot. Gard. 2011

Cultivation and Propagation: It is very easy to culture and makes an interesting plant in any collection and is rewarding. It is also easy to take care as indoor plant.
Potting mix: They thrive in nutrient poor soils consisting of equal parts of loam and sand, with pumice or lava grit added to ensure good drainage.
Exposure: Mature plants do best in full sun to partial shade.
Watering: It needs moderate watering in autumn and spring while in summer it should be watered thoroughly and allowed to dry before watering again. In winter give only occasional watering (only when the plant starts shrivelling), but it will generally grow even in winter if given water. These plants will survive on neglect. Over-watering is the most common cause of plant failure.
Frost resistance: prefers intermediate to warm temperatures but it is hardy to -2 ° C for short periods.
Propagation: It is propagated by removal of small offsets at the base of the main plant or by leaf and stem cuttings. It grows easily roots at the end of a leaf stalk which has fallen onto ground. New plants are ready within months.