String of Dolphins
Curio × peregrinus · the Dolphin Necklace
It has no homeland. It is a man-made cross between String of Pearls and the hot-dog cactus, born in cultivation and grown only as a houseplant. Each curved leaf sprouts two tiny side flippers, so a healthy strand reads as a pod of leaping dolphins.
Family
Asteraceae
Origin
A cultivated hybrid
In the wild
Does not exist
Indoors
Trails 0.3–0.9 m
Growth
Moderate to fast
With pets
Toxic
Where it's from
Cultivation only, of Japanese horticultural origin
Two African parents
Both parent species come from the dry Cape region of southern Africa, but the cross itself is not found in the wild.
Outdoors: zones 10–11
Frost-tender. Essentially an indoor or container plant in most climates.
Not assessed
As a cultivated hybrid it has no IUCN status and faces no wild-collection pressure.
A plant with no wild
It is a deliberate cross between String of Pearls and a hot-dog cactus, born in cultivation. It went viral after a single 2017 tweet, yet it is sold worldwide under the name Senecio peregrinus, which actually belongs to an unrelated plant from South America. The giveaway that yours is happy is the flippers.
Born in a nursery
A man-made hybrid bred for its dolphin-shaped leaves, never collected from the wild.
The wrong name
Its trade name was published in 1879 for a completely different species.
Flippers mean happy
Lose the two side points and a strand goes flat, which means the light or the water is wrong.
How to keep it
LightBright, indirect
Some gentle morning sun is fine. Strong midday sun scorches the leaves.
WaterLet it dry between
Soak, drain fully, never let it sit in water. Cut back sharply in winter.
HumidityAverage is fineLow to average indoor humidity suits it. No misting needed.
Temperature18–27°CFrost-tender. Keep above 10°C, away from cold drafts and radiators.
SoilGritty cactus mixPotting soil cut with perlite or sand. Good drainage is essential.
FeedingLight, in growing seasonA dilute feed once or twice during the growing season is plenty.
DifficultyEasy to moderateEasy in the right spot, but the dolphin shape fades in poor light.
With petsToxicPyrrolizidine alkaloids and an irritant sap. Drooling, vomiting, diarrhoea and lethargy if eaten.
PropagationStem cuttingsLet a cutting callus, then press nodes onto gritty mix. It roots where the stem meets soil.
RepottingInfrequentShallow-rooted and likes a snug pot. Refresh by propagating cuttings.
What the data says
What it costs
Mass-propagated since the 2017 hype, so plain green is now a commodity. Variegated is the collector form.
$8–20
The cream-splashed variegated form commands a clear premium over plain green, but never reached extreme collector prices.
The air-purifier myth
It gets folded into air-purifying listicles that trace back to a sealed NASA chamber in 1989.
100–1,000
plants would be needed to rival what ordinary room ventilation already does (Cummings and Waring, 2019). Buy it for the leaping dolphins, not for cleaner air.
IUCN · Not assessed
In the wild
There is no wild here at all. The plant is a horticultural invention.
As a cultivated hybrid it has no IUCN status and does not exist in the wild, so no wild-collection pressure applies. A weed-risk screening exists for it in Hawaii, but that reflects routine screening of Curio succulents rather than any documented invasion.
When it sulks
Mushy stemsOverwatering and poorly drained soil. The number one killer.
Leaves lose the dolphin shapeToo little light or too much water. The flippers flatten out.
Shrivelled, flat leavesUnderwatering, or confusingly overwatering. Check the roots.
Scorched leavesToo much direct midday sun.
PestsMealybugs, aphids, spider mites, fungus gnats and whitefly.
Varieties & company
The varieties
Plain green'Hippogriff'Variegated
Pairs with · keep apart from
String of PearlsString of BananasEcheveriaCalatheaFernsPeace Lily
A new plant, every week.
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