Kalanchoe blossfeldiana

Kalanchoe blossfeldiana is a commonly cultivated evergreen house plant of the genus Kalanchoe native to Madagascar. It is known by the English common names flaming Katy, Christmas kalanchoe, florist kalanchoe and Madagascar widow's-thrill.

Taxonomy and naming

Kalanchoe blossfeldiana is in the Kalanchoe section of the Kalanchoe genus, with a description of the plant published in 1934 (Repert. Spec. Nov. Regni Veg. 35:159). Regarding the etymology of the binomial, Adanson adapted the generic name Kalanchoe from 'Kalanchauhuy', a Chinese name for one species recorded by Georg Joseph Kamel, a botanist and Jesuit missionary to the Philippines.

The Oxford English Dictionary states that it is "based on [the] Chinese 伽藍菜 gāláncài", whilst the Collins English Dictionary merely restates the claim that the generic name was derived from the local Chinese name for one of the species. The specific epithet blossfeldiana is in tribute to German hybridiser and botanist Robert Blossfeld, who first introduced the plant to the rest of the world in 1932. The common name Christmas Kalanchoe comes from the plant's flamboyant and colourful blooms in winter.