Echeveria genus

Source: Wikipedia

Echeveria is a large genus of flowering plants in the family Crassulaceae, native to semi-desert areas of Central America, Mexico and northwestern South America.

Echeveria plants are evergreen. Flowers on short stalks (cymes) arise from compact rosettes of succulent fleshy, often brightly coloured leaves. Species are polycarpic, meaning that they may flower and set seed many times over the course of their lifetimes. Often numerous offsets are produced, and are commonly known as "hen and chicks", which can also refer to other genera, such as Sempervivum, that are significantly different from Echeveria.

Many species of Echeveria serve important environmental roles, such as those of host plants for butterflies. For example, the butterfly Callophrys xami uses several species of Echeveria, such as Echevelia gibbiflora, for suitable host plants. Even more, these plants are integral to the oviposition process of C. xami and some other butterfly species as well.

Cultivated cacti

Source: Wikipedia

Cacti were cultivated as ornamental plants from the time they were first brought from the New World. By the early 1800s, enthusiasts in Europe had large collections (often including other succulents alongside cacti). Rare plants were sold for very high prices. Suppliers of cacti and other succulents employed collectors to obtain plants from the wild, in addition to growing their own. In the late 1800s, collectors turned to orchids, and cacti became less popular, although never disappearing from cultivation.

Cacti are often grown in greenhouses, particularly in regions unsuited to the cultivation of cacti outdoors, such the northern parts of Europe and North America. Here, they may be kept in pots or grown in the ground. Cacti are also grown as houseplants, many being tolerant of the often dry atmosphere. Cacti in pots may be placed outside in the summer to ornament gardens or patios, and then kept under cover during the winter. Less drought-resistant epiphytes, such as epiphyllum hybrids, Schlumbergera (the Thanksgiving or Christmas cactus) and Hatiora (the Easter cactus), are widely cultivated as houseplants.