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| Category: Succulent |
| Family: Crassulaceae (Stonecrops) |
| Origin: Mexico (North America) |
| Evergreen: Yes |
| Red/Purple Foliage: Yes |
| Flower Color: Red |
| Bloomtime: Fall/Winter |
| Height: <1 foot |
| Width: Clumping |
| Exposure: Sun or Shade |
| Drought Tolerant: Yes |
| Irrigation (H2O Info): Low Water Needs |
| Winter Hardiness: 20-25° F |
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Echeveria 'Black Prince' - (Black Hens and Chicks) - This succulent plant has produces clumps of short rosettes up to 3 inches wide with dark thin and triangular blackish leaves. These leaves first emerge greenish but darken to a deep lavender brown and with age the lower leaves widen out to as much as 1 inch wide at the base with an acuminate tip that has fine yellow edges. In late fall to early winter appear the dark red flowers on short stalks. Plant in full sun (best color) or light shade in a well drained soil with occasional irrigation in spring and summer months. Hardy to around 25°F. This plant was first offered through the CSSA Journal in the May-June 1970 Abbey Gardens (Abbey Gardens #70-170). It was noted as an appealing new cultivar that resulted in crossing Echeveria shaviana (seed parent) with E. affinis (pollen parent). Echeveria affinis, often called the "Black Echeveria", gives this plant its dark coloration color while Echeveria gives it its delicacy. This hybrid was created by Frank Reinelt , who operated Vetterle and Reinelt Nursery in Capitola, California. This plant is squatter with shorter more triangular leaves than the similar cultivar 'Black Knight' and also is a more prolific clumping plant. The genus Echeveria was named to honor Mexican botanical artist Atanasio Echeverría y Godoy in 1828 by the French botanist Augustin Pyramus de Candolle (DeCandolle) who was very impressed with Echeverría's drawings. Echeverría had accompanied the Sessé and Mociño expedition (led by Martin de Sessé y Lacasta and Mariano Mociño Suárez de Figueroa) while exploring Mexico and northern Central America and had produced thousands of botanical illustrations. The genus Echeveria is a member of the large Crassula family (Crassulaceae), which has about 1,400 species in 33 genera with worldwide distribution. Echeveria, with approximately 180 species, are native to mid to higher elevations in the Americas with the main distribution in Mexico and central America but with one species found from as far north as southern Texas and several species occurring as far south as Bolivia, Peru and possibly Argentina. The book "The genus Echeveria" by John Pilbeam (published by the British Cactus and Succulent Society, 2008) is an excellent source of information on the species and "Echeveria Cultivars" by Lorraine Schulz and Attila Kapitany (Schulz Publishing, 2005) has beautiful photos and great information on the cultivars and hybrids. It has been argued by some that the correct pronunciation for the genus is ek-e-ve'-ri-a, though ech-e-ver'-i-a seems in more prevalent use in the US. Our plants of Echeveria 'Black Prince' and image used on this webpage are from Longview Horticulture in New Zealand.
The description above is based on our research and observations of this plant growing in our nursery, in our own garden and in other gardens in the Santa Barbara area. We would appreciate hearing from anyone who has additional information about this plant, even if they disagree with what we have written.
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