Which Succulent Is the Cutest? The One That Applauds Wins Hands Down

A Word from Calendar Mom

On the night that just passed, the Species Calendar online salon invited @Attack of the Succulents to share a summer care guide for succulents with everyone. Many friends still wanted more after the lecture, so Calendar Mom decided to ask Mr. Succulent to chat about the cutest succulent.

Below is Mr. Succulent's sharing

Calendar Mom asked me to talk about the cutest succulent, so of course I needed to do a survey first. The result: whether they were beginners just starting out or veterans who had been growing succulents for years, over 80% of people thought the cutest succulent had to be the Bear's Paw (Cotyledon tomentosa).

The popular meme "applause for you" is made from an edited photo of a Bear's Paw. Image: 4GIFS.org

Where the Bear Comes From

Bear's Paw is a cute little thing in the Crassulaceae family, genus Cotyledon. The genus name Cotyledon means "seed leaf" in English, that is, a part of the embryo of a seed plant; its etymology is the Greek word kotule, originally meaning a hollow cavity. The species epithet tomentosa means fuzzy.

The name "Bear's Paw" (Xiong Tongzi) starts with Shuten Doji. Shuten Doji is a household-name leader of monsters in Japan, and the monsters that followed it, besides the better-known Ibaraki Doji, also included the four demons Xiong Tongzi, Hu Xiong Tongzi, Xing Xiong Tongzi and Jin Xiong Tongzi.

So if Shuten Doji grew succulents, it would definitely grow "bears." Image: Wan You Market Boss

Although the name comes from Japan, the Bear's Paw's original home is 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 to adapt to the arid, rain-scarce climate here, they evolved thick, juicy "bodies" that help store water. The plants are much branched and can grow densely into a small shrub form, reaching half a meter tall.

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

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

The Cute Bear Grown in a Flowerpot

The cutest part of the Bear's Paw is its plump, chubby leaves. The leaves are obovate, wide at the top and narrow at the bottom, flat on the surface, and convex on the back like a spoon. Its leaves are paired opposite each other, arranged in a cross-shaped opposite pattern, as if someone were applauding.

Its leaves are densely covered with fine hairs, and the leaf margins have tooth-like notches at the top, numbering between 3 and 10, looking exactly like little bear paws, which is also how the Bear's Paw got its English name "Bear's Paw." With enough sunlight and a large temperature difference, the Bear's Paw develops charming red tips, as if it had painted red nails, super cute.

There you go, a naturally adorable "bear paw." Image: Sweetstuff

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

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

Be Careful to Grow the Bear Well

The Bear's Paw likes a warm, dry environment with plenty of sunlight. Be careful in summer heat and winter cold, avoiding sunscorch and frostbite; the potting mix should be loose, breathable and well-draining. Note that the Bear's Paw easily drops its leaves, so handle it gently and never roughly.

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 the Bear's Paw, namely Bear's Paw white variegation and Bear's Paw yellow variegation, known among succulent fans as "White Bear" and "Yellow Bear", the difference being the color of the variegated stripes. In the succulent world, the ordinary Bear's Paw is generally called "Green Bear," and the green, white and yellow bears make up the legendary "We Bare Bears."

Bear's Paw yellow variegation, commonly known as Yellow Bear.

When in its best state, the White Bear's claws are a unique pink, making hearts flutter. White Bear and Yellow Bear are harder to care for than Green Bear, and circulation on the market is limited, so prices tend to be higher.

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