Succulent Flowers

I got this little succulent back when I first started working at the Zoo so it must be going on 10 years old. I got it from a guy who would sell rare plants out of his backyard - no joke. It loved plants and once a year would sell some off for charity. It was a little square 2" pot when I got it. After a few years I moved it into a 3" pot that it just loved.

He told me they like to be crowded so I never moved the little guy along, until a few years ago. I jumped straight to a 7-8" terra cotta pot that I had laying around. It did pretty well and has grown, once again, to the point where you can't see dirt at all... Just a lot of papery covered, bulbous roots.

It's a totally adorable spotted leaf plant that I love. In the late spring it busts out with a huge amount of flower spikes! It practically doubles the size of the plant for a couple of months. The little spikes are covered in super tiny, bell-shaped blooms that range from soft pink to purple.

Like most of my older plants, I have no idea what it is and have never seen it in a nursery. Oh well, I will enjoy it all the same...even without a name.

JULY 2014 Update: It's a Ledebouria socialis!