It's a succulent!

Another grotty day today - drizzling most of the time. By the time we came back from the shops at 3pm it was very gloomy and I hadn't got round to a Blip - I couldn't Blip something in a shop two days running!

So this strange plant fills the bill today. I noticed this outside a fancy flower shop in Henley-on-Thames last week and took it inside to ask the salesgirl what it was. 'Is it a crassula?', I asked? 'No, it's a succulent', she replied. I agreed that it was a succulent, but asked again if it was a succulent known as a crassula. 'No, it's a succulent'. OK, it's a succulent. Why work in a flower shop if you don't know what plants you're selling?

Bit of a pain bringing it home on the train in a cardboard box in my backpack, but here it is. After searching on Google I've come to the conclusion that it's not a crassula (it's a succulent) but actually a kalanchoe - Kalanchoe thyrsiflora. It can grow up to 2ft high, with leaves 4-6" long and 2-3" wide, which mine already are, and small yellow flowers. I'm not sure what I shall do with it if it gets that big, but it's certainly dramatic! 

It's a native of southern Africa - Cape Province and the Transvaal. 

(Further research suggests that this plant has been grown for many years under the name of Kalanchoe thyrsiflora, but that is a completely green species. The correct name of this red-tinted species is apparently Kalanchoe luciae.)