Siempreviva
Kalanchoe laciniata · Christmas tree plant
- Names in the book
- Siempreviva (Live-for-ever), Sp.-Fil.; Katakatakā, Tag.
- Colours
- floweryellow, orange
- Native range
- Africa, Arabia and India
- In the Philippines, per the book
- Common in all parts of the islands.
- Family
- Crassulaceae, filed in the book under Crassulaceæ
- Printed as
- Kalanchoe laciniata, DC. (Cotyledon laciniata, Roxb.; Bryophyllum serratum, Blanco.)
- Sources
- Page 109 on Project Gutenberg · Wikipedia
The plant sold as katakataka today is usually Kalanchoe pinnata.
The plant today
Kalanchoe laciniata, commonly known as the christmas tree plant or cathedral bells, is a small plant which is native to the Arabian Peninsula, Eritrea, and the Middle East but it also can be found in parts of India and Sri Lanka. Kalanchoe laciniata is a succulent plant with reddish erect simple stems, with fleshy green leaves. It grows up to 1 m (3 ft 3 in) in height. The leaves are compound or dissected, up to 140 mm (5.5 in) long and 80 mm (3.1 in) wide. The flowers are greenish-white to light orange in colour and grow up to 15 mm (0.59 in) long.
Excerpt from “Kalanchoe laciniata” on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Recorded in the Philippines
GBIF holds 11 records of this plant from the Philippines.
Counts from GBIF occurrence records, October 2026. They include planted trees and garden plants, and a province with no records may only lack collectors.
What the 1901 book says
A historical record, quoted as printed. Doses and remedies here are not medical advice.
Uses
The fleshy leaves are beaten up and applied to chronic ulcers and sores on which they exert a stimulant action. Applied to the temples they relieve headache. Ainslie testifies to the good effect of its local use in inflammations and as a wash for ulcers. The juice of the leaves is used in Concan in the treatment of bilious diarrhœa and gall stones.
Botanical description
A well-known plant, about 2° high, with leaves sessile, opposite, oval, serrately toothed, fleshy. Flowers yellow, in umbels, the stalks reaching a height of 3°. Calyx very short, with 4 lanceolate, acuminate sepals, united at the base. Corolla salver-shaped, persistent, with border having 4 small lobules. Stamens 8, fertile. Ovaries 4, free, each with 1 many-ovuled cell. Styles same length as the stamens. Stigmas awl-shaped. Four seed vessels, each with 1 compartment containing many oblong seeds.
Recent research
The most cited papers since 2022 that name this plant in the title, pulled from Europe PMC in October 2026. Titles are the authors' own and the findings have not been reviewed here.
All 1 results on Europe PMC