The Meaning of the Mother of Thousands Plant

Many believe there to be a special meaning behind various plants in the world, with a spiritual emphasis for succulents. Mother of thousands plants are succulents that fall within this category. Many folks have chosen to give the plant as a gift for numerous special occasions for this reason. They make excellent hanging plants, as well, and are thought to fill the home with good things.

Meanings Behind the Common Names

Let’s start with the “this is why” answer for the common names given to the plant.

Mother of Thousands

The most common nickname for the plant Kalanchoe daigremontiana formerly known as Bryophyllum daigremontianum or Kalanchoe x laetivirens is the mother of thousands. The plant produces thousands of plantlets throughout its lifetime – making the name literal.

Mexican Hat Plant, Devil’s Backbone, Alligator Plant

The unique shape of the leaves is where the plant gets these other nicknames. The leaves are uniquely shaped, particularly with the plantlets that grow at the edges. The plantlets look a bit like teeth or vertebrae, thus giving them these nicknames.

The Lucky Plant

There are many plants in the world considered to be lucky. In fact, some are even commonly known as such, like lucky bamboo, or imply luck with their names, like the money tree.

The mother of thousands doesn’t have an inherently lucky name, but the name does imply fertility, which in many societies is considered to be lucky.

Some may associate the plant with the Indo-Chinese goddess known by the name Mother of Ten Thousand Things. The goddess is seen as part of the universe’s ebb and flow, ever-changing, ever the same.

Generally speaking, though, succulents are considered lucky because they are capable of surviving drought conditions.

Ever-Growing, Ever-Changing

Succulents are also a symbol of growth. These plants will grow in almost any hard condition, from sand instead of soil to gravel or rocks. The mother of thousands thrives with a bit more care and chosen placement.

Mother of thousands drop all those plantlet “babies” and the plant keeps growing over time, spreading out through those offspring. But, interestingly, the plant is also a slow grower in and of itself but keeps pushing through those hard conditions, resulting in a long life of growth.

Forgive Me, Please!

Sometimes, succulents are seen as the symbol of forgiveness. This is probably because there’s an element of endurance to these plants which is a sign of repentance (a turning from wrong to doing better) and change.

A Symbol of Selfless and Eternal Love

Love is ongoing and persistent, eternal and selfless – and so these plants that endure harsh conditions, losses, changes, and a long lifespan symbolize this kind of beautiful, eternal love. And as mother of thousands bear the name and activity of motherhood, they are particularly known for this symbolism, thanks to the selflessness of motherly love.

May You Live a Tranquil Life

There’s something about succulents that lend themselves to tranquility. This is, perhaps, the reason these plants, including mother of thousands, tend to represent tranquility in life. This tranquility encapsulates healthy living and peacefulness together. This is believed to be the symbolism for these plants because they thrive, not merely survive, in harsh circumstances. But doing so is a choice for humans, which is why the mother of thousands is often gifted as an expression of encouragement toward a healthy life.

Live a Life of Goodwill

Lucky mother of thousands plants also symbolizes good fortune and goodwill. The hope is that those who have good fortunes will use them to encourage and live out a life of goodwill toward others.

You Are Strong

Mother of thousands plants produces a lot of offspring – as their name implies. You cannot do this unless you’re strong and enduring. So, the meaning of mother of thousands is often to represent a person’s strength and endurance through a difficult time now or times ahead.

The Fertility Queen

And speaking of all those offspring, mother of thousands are probably most specifically and most often gifted as a lucky plant for fertility. The plant produces literally thousands of plantlets in their lifetimes and so they make a naturally obvious symbol of positive reproduction and fertility. They are often given to people who are trying to have babies and may be struggling with infertility issues.

Tell Me I’m Tenacious and Persistent

Finally, because these plants are tough and strong, tranquil, and lucky, they symbolize persistence and tenacity. They thrive in areas where other plants would struggle or die, and they reproduce at a fast rate and spread around easily, propagating without much effort (seen, anyway!). This makes them a strong symbol for tenacity, as they persist in harsh environments.

The mother of thousands plant is often gifted to folks who are struggling with tedious or challenging times in their lives, as a symbol of hope in those times.

Spiritual Meaning of Mother of Thousands and Succulents

In some religious traditions, plants are ascribed special spiritual meanings. Succulents, for example, in feng shui, are believed to emit different energy types based on the shape of their leaves, their lifespans, flowers, and aromas. They trap these energies via the process of photosynthesis and emit the energy types as they grow and live into the Yin and Yang energies. This is largely why plants are so important to feng shui.

Because succulents grow well indoors – and mother of thousands generally do best indoors if you need to prevent them from spreading too much – they are highly favored in feng shui. Their tenacity, long lifespans, unique shapes, rare flowers, and accumulation of water in the leaves produce a healthy plant year-round for many years, offering long-term emissions of energy and beauty in the same space.

Because of this, use of mother of thousands in your home is considered particularly beneficial and will help you live into the positive messages of the meanings of the plant: tenacity, a healthy life, and strength. Many studies have shown that keeping indoor plants can help with stress relief and clean air, as well. So even if you’re not a follower of feng shui, the physical capabilities of the plants do also help you live into these meanings of the mother of thousands plants, at least in small ways.

When to Gift Mother of Thousands Plants

Mother of thousands plants are often given as symbolic gifts, thanks to their distinctive and encouraging meanings. They may be gifted at any time, of course, but through their symbolism, these are the most common times to make these unusual plants your unusual gift.

• Mother’s Day
• Valentine’s Day
• Wedding or dating anniversary
• Birth of a child
• Beginning of a new job or career
• Beginning of college
• During times of infertility
• During dark or depressing times
• When someone is about to embark on an arduous journey of some kind
• Birthdays
• Before a lengthy (endurance) race
• As a parting gift
• Before special events
• Before tests, trials, or exams

The photo featured at the top of this post is © iStock.com/skymoon13