SUCCULENT PLANT SPECIES FROM THE CRASSULACEAE FAMILY PRESENT IN THE GREENHOUSES OF THE BOTANICAL GARDEN "AL. BUIA" FROM CRAIOVA

Abstract

Dissemination of information regarding the existing plant collections in the Botanical Garden "Al. Buia" from Craiova is a necessity for knowing, understanding and appreciating its plant heritage at its fair value. Through the collections it holds, it can be said that the Botanical Garden effectively contributes to the conservation of plant diversity, as some rare and threatened species from Europe and other regions of the world are also present here. Also, an interesting group of plants grown in the greenhouses of the Craiova Botanical Garden is represented by succulent plants, with representatives from several families, of which species belonging to the Crassulaceae family are presented in this work. This family includes mostly herbaceous species, rarely frutescent plants with succulent leaves that grow spontaneously in dry, rocky, water-poor places in the warm and temperate regions of the globe. The Crassulaceae family is well represented in the greenhouse by species of the genera Adromischus, Aeonium, Aichryson, Bryophyllum, Crassula, Echeveria, Kalanchoe, Monanthes, Pachyphytum, Sedum, Sinocrassula, generally originating in the arid areas of South Africa. Some species are native to the Canary Islands, South America, Central America and Mexico, but all exhibit adaptations to xerophytism, such as covering with trichomes or a wax coating.