Scientific Name
Polycarpaea nivea (Aiton) Webb
Common Name(s)
Common White Saladillo
Synonym(s)
Achyranthes nivea, Hagaea gnaphalodes, Illecebrum gnaphalodes, Lahaya gnaphalioides, Mollia gnaphalodes, Polycarpaea gnaphalodes, Polycarpaea microphylla
Scientific Classification
Family: Caryophyllaceae
Genus: Polycarpaea
Description
Polycarpaea nivea is a small shrub with woody stems and strongly fleshy silvery or, more rarely, brownish leaves with acute to rounded apices and densely covered with hairs.
Etymology
The specific epithet "nivea" comes from the Latin word meaning "white like the snow" and refers to the color of the leaves.
Hardiness
USDA hardiness zone 8a to 10b: from 10 °F (−12.2 °C) to 40 °F (+4.4 °C).
How to Grow and Care
It is a coastal xerophyte, growing in extremely arid to arid areas of several islands, typically on more or less compacted dunes close to the sea but also in coastal cliffs and stony coastal plains. It is also found in sub-humid to humid mountain areas. In the Canary Islands, it forms psammophyte communities with Convolvulus caput-medusae and Heliotropium bacciferum ssp. erosum, Zygophyllum fontanesii, and Euphorbia paralias.
It is a low-growing, grey hairy plant seldom seen in cultivation. However, it has been used extensively and successfully in sand-binding experiments on dunes.
See more at How to Grow and Care for Polycarpaea nivea.
Origin
This species is found in dunes and rocks in Mauritania, Morocco, the Canary Islands, and Cape Verde.
Links
- Back to genus Polycarpaea
- Succupedia: Browse succulents by Scientific Name, Common Name, Genus, Family, USDA Hardiness Zone, Origin, or cacti by Genus
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