Cool Cacti & Super Succulents – Leaf succulents

Many succulent plants store water in their leaves. These are a few examples of what they look like.

This is an Adromischus, which grows in South Africa.

The leaves are growing in a clump. In the hot South African sunshine they will develop these mottled patterns, which makes them look so attractive. In the UK they often remain much greener.

This is a Gasteria. Note how the leaves are arranged in a flat tiered pattern.

There are many interesting types of gasteria with different leaf patterns. They come mainly from South Africa.

Many leaf succulents grow in a rosette shape.

This is a Haworthia. There are many different types of Haworthia some of which look very different to this.

Like many other succulents they come from South Africa but, unlike a lot of succulents, they stay fairly small. Some of them could be grown on a sunny windowsill.

And this is an Echeveria.

Notice that this particular plant has hairy leaves. This is another way to help save water. The hairs on the leaves trap dew, which runs down the leaves towards the roots.

All Echeverias come from America and many of them grow in Mexico.

Some types of Echeveria can be grown outside in summer in the UK, and are often seen in formal planted arrangements in parks and other public gardens.