Kalanchoe also written Kalanchöe or Kalanchoë, is a genus of about 125 species of tropical, succulent flowering plants in the Family Crassulaceae.

Kalanchoe rotundifolia is a brittle succulent plant which grows up to 1m tall under favourable conditions. Adanson who derived the name kalanchoe from the Chinese name for one of the species, described this genus in 1763. The species name rotundifolia comes from the Latin and means “round leaves”. The flowers of this species is pinkish orange in colour and it has a slender stem. It has fleshy, rounded or lobed leaves that are 2.5cm broad and are clustered at the base of erect stems. Kalanchoe rotundifolia is traditionally used by the Zulu as a charm to make one “invisible”.