Unusual Speckled Leaved Succulent
Echeveria are mostly gorgeous – Echeveria purpusorum, with it’s tongue twisting name, is no exception.
This species was discovered in Southern Mexico, near San Luis Atolotitlan, where the bright light and porous well drained soil makes for perfect growing habitat.
If you can copy these conditions, your plant will thrive.
The Purpus brothers, Carl and Joseph, botanist and horticulturist, named this species for each other when they discovered it together.
E. purpusorum is very slow growing, sometimes living as a solitary rosette for years. In time, it might produce some offsets, or even flower.
The flowers are red to yellow, opening in sequence along a spray like bloom stalk.
It seems that there are many seed sources, all producing slightly different forms of this plant – some have lots of larger spots, especially on the underside of the leaves, others show only small red freckles on the surface.
Others appear to be almost completely green but textured with two or more other similar shades of green to make a complex camouflage pattern.
Echeveria purposorum planted in a seashell
Coloration isn’t the only difference in the cultivars of this plant. Leaf forms vary from spiky to quite compact and stocky.
The information out there seems to indicate that these plants love full sun, but resent being moved from a dimmer situation into brighter light, causing sunburn.
Surprisingly, this plant can survive a slight frost. Good to know with our changing climate!
