Bear's Paw is the cutest succulent, with leaves that look like little bear paws clapping

A word from the Calendar Lady

Last night, the Species Calendar online salon invited @SucculentAssault to share a summer care guide for succulents with everyone. Many friends still wanted more after the talk, so the Calendar Lady decided to ask Mr. Succulent to chat a bit moreThe cutest succulent。

Here is Mr. Succulent's sharing

When the Calendar Lady asked me to talk about the cutest succulent, I of course had to do a survey first. As it turned out, whether they were total beginners or veterans who had been growing succulents for years,more than 80% of people believed the cutest succulent had to be -- Bear's Paw（Cotyledon tomentosa）。

The popular meme "clapping for you" is an edited image of Bear's Paw. Image: 4GIFS.org

Where does the bear come from

Bear's Paw is a cute little thing in the Crassulaceae family, genus Cotyledon. The genus name Cotyledon means "cotyledon" in English, which is a part of the embryo of seed plants; its etymology is the Greek word kotule, originally meaning a hollow cavity. The species epithet tomentos meansfuzzy.

The name "Bear's Paw" has to start withShuten-douji. Shuten-douji is a household-known boss of demons in Japan. The demons that followed it, besides the relatively famous Ibaraki-douji, also included four oni: Bear's Paw, Tiger-Bear Cub, Star-Bear Cub and Golden-Bear Cub.

So if Shuten-douji grew succulents, it would definitely grow "bears". Image: Chief Steward of Wanyou Market

Although the name comes from Japan, Bear's Paw's original home is actually far away in Africa, in the Ladismith area of the Western Cape Province of South Africa. They grow in rock crevices or quartz sand, and in order to adapt to thearid, rain-scarceclimate here, they evolved thick, juicy "flesh" that helps retain water. The plants are much branched and can grow densely into a small shrub form, reaching up to half a meter tall.

A cute pet can even grow into a shrub form. Image: Waterwise Botanicals

Opposite-decussate leaves, bell-like tubular flowers, and a 5-lobed recurved corolla are relatively prominent features of the genus Cotyledon. Members of this genusalmost all have strong toxicity, so do not think Bear's Paw is cute and try to take a bite.

The cute bear grown in a flowerpot

The cutest part of Bear's Paw is undoubtedly itsplump, chubby leaves. The leaves are obovate, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, with a flat surface and a back that bulges like a spoon. Its leavesface each other in pairs, arranged in a cross-shaped opposite pattern,as if someone is clapping。

Its leaves are densely covered with fine hairs, and the leaf margin at the tip has tooth-like notches, numbering between 3 and 10,looking exactly like little bear paws, which is also how Bear's Paw got its English name "Bear's Paw". Under conditions of full sun and a large temperature difference, Bear's Paw develops charming red tips,as if painted with red nail polish, super cute.

There, the naturally adorable "bear paw". Image: Sweetstuff

Bear's Paw is not only cute in its bear claws,its flowers are also very cute!Every year during the flowering season, they put out strong, long inflorescence stalks, and from the flower stalk and calyx all the way to the outside of the perianth, everything is covered in short fine hairs. The small flowers are delicate and lovely, ranging in color from orange-yellow to vermilion, with a 5-lobed recurved perianth like a hanging little bell, combined into a cyme.

A flower blooms in the palm of your hand! Image: Caroline / flickr

Be careful when growing the bear well

Bear's Paw likes warm, dry environments and plenty of sunlight,be careful during summer heat and winter cold, avoid sunscald and frostbite; the soil mix should be loose, breathable and well-draining and that will be enough. One thing to note is thatBear's Paw easily drops its leaves, so when handling it, use a light touch and do not be rough.

If you grow it well, a group of cute bears will be waving at you in your backyard! Image: wiki

On the market you can also find two variegated cultivars of Bear's Paw, namely Bear's Paw White Variegation and Bear's Paw Yellow Variegation, which succulent lovers call"White Bear" and "Yellow Bear", the difference being the color of the variegation stripes. In the succulent world, the ordinary Bear's Paw is generally called "Green Bear", and the green, white and yellow three bears make up the legendary "We Bare Bears".

Bear's Paw Yellow Variegation is what is commonly called Yellow Bear.

When in its best state, White Bear's claws are a unique pink, making your girly heart explode.White Bear and Yellow Bear are harder to care for than Green Bear, and their circulation on the market is not large, so the price is on the high side.

White Bear's little claws are really so pink and tender! Image: Valentino Vallcelli