Senecio vitalis f. crested

The crested shape of this particular succulent presents the typical fan arrangement that makes each exemplar absolutely unique, never identical to another and for this reason very appreciated by collectors. In the specific, this specimen is commonly known also as "mermaid tail", that is siren’s tail, due to the peculiar shape of the flat stem that widens at the apex, where it is adorned with a thick digitiform foliage that looks very much like the end of the tail from siren in motion. In its normal form, S. vitalis is also called "finger of blue chalk", in relation to the fleshy, elongated and tapered shape of the foliage; the latter assumes a particular bluish colouration, made opaque and almost "pinstriped" from a kind of pruina that completely covers it and protects the succulent from the atmospheric agents.