Succulent Plant 'Echeveria'

Rosette Structure in Succulents, Agave and Bromeliads

I’m using a small succulent Echeveria to show the rosette structure of this plant – I can’t get high enough to photograph the taller plants from above, especially since a lot of them are prickly.SucculentSucculents have fleshy leaves and store their water within the leaf itself. This Sempervivum succulent is commonly called ‘Hens and Chicks’ for its habit of making small offshoots of itself to the side.succulentAloes are another succulent with a rosette structure. This small Aloe called ‘Sea Urchin’ is showing off its red flowers.Small Aloe Sea Urchin with red flowersWatercolour sketch of the Partridge Breast (Aloe variegata) seen in Arizona.
sketch Aloe VariegataBoth Yucca and Agave plants belong to the family of Agavaceae, and grow in a ‘rosette’ form. Mexican agaveThe rosette structure from the side on a young Yucca plant.Yucca in the gardens of Las Brisas in Huatalco, MexicoI was often confused about the differences between a Bromeliad and a Yucca, mostly because they both have the rosette structure and less fleshy leaves than the yucca. But the majority of Bromeliads are not succulents and therefore do not store their water in their leaves but in the centre of the plant.
Centre pool of water of a Bromeliad in the Puerto Vallarta Botanical Garden, MexicoMore of Nancy Merrill’s Photo a Week Challenge: Structure in Nature.

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