What is a succulent? 🤔

Succulent is a descriptive word for juicy, fleshy, plump plant organs that can hold a lot of water. Succulents come from a wide variety of plant families and are not necessarily closely related. 

Surprisingly, not all succulents are desert plants. Of course many are and have adapted to extremely harsh environments. The Saguaro cactus is a good example and takes full advantage of late summer thunderstorms that flood the desert. The cactus will draw as much water as it can, swelling up, then very slowly deplete and use up those reserves over 1-2 years of drought. What a handy plant to own if you go on vacation a lot! 🌵

In contrast, species like Hen and Chicks live in rocky alpine areas, happily living on cliffs, rock faces and gravel. Their juicy succulent leaves enable the plant to survive where there is little soil to hold moisture. They depend on sporadic rainfall and snowmelt to refill their smaller reserves of water. These little guys can survive cold weather and deep freezes and happily photosynthesize all winter. They can live in partial shade too, but extreme heat can bake them to a crisp, unlike the Saguaro. 

Then there are coastal succulents, which are happy to survive off the rolling mists and fogs which provide enough moisture to keep them alive. 🏔

The Mediterranean region and South Africa are home to a large number of popular succulents. These plants survive extremely dry summers by going semi-dormant, waiting for the winter rains to come. Then they burst alive with color and flowers!

Perhaps the most unusual succulents are epiphytic cacti like Epiphyllum and Rhipsalis. They have adapted to live in the wet bark of trees. They enjoy high humidity and good rainfall but don’t like soggy soil.

Fun Fact: All cacti are succulents, but not all succulents are cacti. AND they photosynthesize backwards! Other plants absorb CO2 (carbon dioxide) throughout the daytime and use sunlight energy to convert it into sugars. But cacti absorb CO2 at night to prevent water loss from evaporation in the daytime heat. 😎

In short, succulents are very diverse and researching the origin of your plants can show you where they are from, and help you understand their needs!