Dorstenia buchananii var. longipedunculata Photo by: © Plantemania
Origin and Habitat: Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia.
Type location: Mozambique near Lake Malawi.
Altitude range: up to 1700 metres above sea level.
Habitat and ecology: Dorstenia buchananiiSN|33390]]SN|33390]] var. longipedunculata grows In Brachystegia woodland, in rocky places.
Synonyms:
See all synonyms of Dorstenia buchananii
Common Names include:
ENGLISH: long-stalked Malawian dorstenia
Description: Dorstenia buchananiiSN|33390]]SN|33390]] var. longipedunculata (Often misspelled “longepedunculata”) is a shrubby perennial succulent herb 12 to 50 cm tall (Apparently a smaller than standard Dorstenia buchananiiSN|33390]]SN|33390]]), rhizomatous or often pachycaul (caudiciform). The flowers are green and triangular.
Derivation of specific name: longipedunculata; with a long peduncle, the stalk of the inflorescence or 'flower', one of the distinctive characters of this variety.
Caudex: c. 5 cm in diameter.
Herbaceous stems: Always erect 15-50 cm long.
Leaves: Upper leaves oblong-elliptic, (5-)7-8.5(-15) cm long, (1-)2.2-2.5(-5) cm wide, cuneate at base, shortly and irregularly denticulate, not lobed. Peduncle (4-)8-10 cm long.
Flower: Receptacle green, elliptic-triangular, about 7-13 mm x 5-10 mm, with margins usually without bract-arms except for a single, apical, filiform, shortly hairy bract-arm 5-13 cm long, basal bract-arms, if present, 1.5-5 cm long.
Bibliography: Major references and further lectures
1) J. Hutchinson and A. B. Rendle “Flora of Tropical Africa”, Vol 6 1916
2) C. C. Berg “Flora Zambesiaca” FZ, Vol 9, Part 6, page 13, 1991
3) John Eric Burrows, Sandie Burrows “Figs of Southern & South-Central Africa” Umdaus Press, 01 January 2003
4) Joseph Burtt-Davy, A C Hoyl “Check-lists of the Forest Trees and Shrubs of the British Empire”, Ed. 5, Part 2 1949
5) Bingham, M.G., Willemen, A., Wursten, B.T., Ballings, P. and Hyde, M.A. (2016). Flora of Zambia: Species information: Dorstenia buchananii var. longipedunculata.
http://www.zambiaflora.com/speciesdata/species.php?species_id=184220, retrieved 26 December 2016
6) Urs Eggli “Illustrated Handbook of Succulent Plants: Dicotyledons” Springer Science & Business Media, 2002
Cultivation and Propagation: Beloved by collectors, Dorstenia buchananiiSN|33390]]SN|33390]] var. longipedunculata is an excellent caudiciform plant and it should make an interesting addition to a collection.
Growth rate: It grows well, and fast, but it’s susceptible to rotting if too wet.
Exposure: It needs light shade, but the caudex should be in the shade, while the leaves prefer some sun. Avoid direct blasting sun in summer. Bright light if grown indoors.
Soil: It needs a very porous potting medium (add pumice, vulcanite, and perlite). It does better in a rather acidic soil.
Waterings: During the growing season, the plants appreciate a fair amount of water but allow the soil to dry slightly between watering, making sure that they never dry out completely, but keep dry during the winter after the leaves have died back. It rot easily and do NOT like a lot of water when it has no leaves. They have to be kept in a rather high air humidity.
Fertilizer: They are fertilized once during the growing season with a balanced fertilizer diluted to ½ the strength recommended on the label.
Frost tolerance: Due to its African origin keep warm in winter, the minimum safe average temperature is 15°C, although it can go lower for short periods. It can be grown outdoors in frost-free climates, need anyway to kept above 10°C and dry in winter. It is very prone to rot in cool, wet conditions. USDA Zone 12, but does very well in containers.
Maintenance: Repot every two years. It like pots with generous drain holes.
Propagation: Seed, plants seem self fertile. Seed germinate readily at 21° C. They can also be propagated by cuttings.
