Kingdom: Plantae
(Unranked): Angiosperms
(Unranked): Eudicots
(Unranked): Core eudicots
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Crassulaceae (33 genera and 1,400 species)
Genus: Aeonium (about 35 species)
Species: A. arboreum var. artopurpureum
Binomial name: Aeonium arboreum var. artopurpureum
Synonyms: Aeonium manriqueorum "atropurpureum"
Common name: Purple Stonecrop, Black rose, Black Beauty, Black Tree Aeonium
Aeonium arboreum var. artopurpureum is a herbaceous perennial nursery produced cultivar. The parent Aeonium arboreum originates from the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean. It is a short branching succulent shrub with maroon leaf rosettes with lime green centres. It goes to about 1m in height tall at maturity and can have spread of 600mm. Its succulent oval compound leaves emerge purple in spring, turning deep purple in colour throughout the season. From early to late summer bright yellow star-shaped flowers form pyramidal clusters on stems.
The plant is monocarpic so the flowering stem will die when it flowers which is normally after about 10 years.
This species along with other Aeonium hybrids are found growing wild with other weed plants on the Port Hills and Banks Peninsula, Canterbury.
Aeonium arboreum var. artopurpureum with its attractive bronzing rosette photographed November Christchurch, New Zealand.
The pyramidal flower clusters
Thanks to Wikipedia for text and information: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
