Mirabilis

A hybrid by J.B.A. Deleuil, Marseilles.

Parentage : Echeveria bracteosa (Pachyphytum bracteosum) x E. scheeri.

Description : Feuilles d'une superbe couleur opaline rosée.

Note :

1. It is unknown whether E. scheeri was correctly named. If it was correctly named, the hybrid with the above parentage would have been a plant developing fairly long stems.

2. There is a water colour painting by Frederick Walpole, originated before 1904, of a plant called "Echeveria marabilis" - this may be a wrong spelling for "mirabilis"- however this plant has no stem at all (see photo below). The photo of a similar looking plant can be found in Walther's article on Echeveria Hybrids, Cact. & Succ. Journal US 6(4): 54. 1934.

3. There is a description in European Gardenflora IV: 219, 1995, of a xPachyveria 'Mirabilis' :

Stem undeveloped.

Leaves flat, opaline rose, glaucous, c. 60 to a rosette, oblanceolate, acute, c. 7 x 2 cm, channelled.

Inflorescence simple, erect, to 20 cm , with a single long loose hanging one-sided series of flowers on flower-stalks to 6 mm.

Sepals acute, as long as petals.

Petals appendaged at the base."

This description is a good match for the Walpole plate as well as for the plant in Walther's article but of course not for Deleuil's hybrid.

4. Conclusion : Apart from the fact that its leaves were opaline rose it is unknown how Deleuil's hybrid 'Mirabilis' looked like. If its parent plants were correctly named, it would have had a well developed stem. This means that Walpole's "Echeveria marabilis" and the hybrid illustrated in Walther's article and described as xP. 'Mirabilis' in European Gardenflora do not correspond to Deleuil's plant and cannot bear its name.