What is this?

[sandyvaughan]

Is this just a couple of leaves that have appeared on the flower stem or is it a plantlet that I can remove later?
Sorry that close up image is poor resolution.

[Diane]

It IS a little plantlet . They occasionally appear on Aloes and Haworthias, and if it grows large enough, can be removed and rooted.

[MatDz]

From my observation based on the few Haworthia I have, the flower stem should soon shrivel up right until the plantlet, but still keep feeding it for quite some time afterwards!

[edds]

I have an almost identical one growing on an Aloe 'Cleopatra'. In orchid circles they happen a little more regularly, especially on some Phalaenopsis and Dendrobium. On orchids they're called keiki which is Hawaiian for child.

I'm hoping I can leave mine in situ for as long as possible to let it grow and then pot it up next spring. If the stem below starts to dry up though I'll take it off with a bit of stem to anchor it and pot it up.

[sandyvaughan]

Thank you all, This is really interesting, fingers crossed it grows on.

[Stuart]

That explains the term 'keiki', I've heard it used in the US for these plants forming on flower stems but didn't know where it came from.

Stuart

[MatDz]

Might be worth experimenting with the "keiki paste", which is basically a weak BAP hormone solution, on some Haworthia stems I reckon!

[cactusK]

Some cultivars seem to be much more prone to growing these stem plantlets than others. I have an Aloe hybrid that gets one every time it flowers. So if you've had one grow on a plant it's worth checking next time it flowers too. They're quite slow growing so it can be a while until you can remove it.

[ChrisR]

Same thing with this Crassula sericea.......bit of a bonus really.

[cactusK]

Great photo. I have heard Adromischus can get stem plantlets too, but we often cut the flower spikes off so I don't suppose I'm likely to find one.