Bear's Paw Identification Guide
How to identify Bear's Paw by its chunky fuzzy leaves tipped with reddish tooth-like 'claws' resembling a bear's paw.
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Key Identifying Features
Bear's Paw (Cotyledon tomentosa) is a small fuzzy succulent named for its plump, claw-tipped leaves that look like a bear's foot.
- Thick, chubby oval leaves covered in fine fuzz
- Reddish-brown "teeth" (claws) at the leaf tips
- Soft velvety green surface
- Compact, bushy shrub to about 12 in (30 cm)
Leaves & Stems
The leaves are fat, rounded, and densely fuzzy (tomentose) with fine silvery-green hairs. The defining trait is the row of pointed "teeth" along the upper tip, usually flushed rust-red to brown, giving each leaf the look of a clawed paw. Teeth color intensifies with strong light. Leaves grow in opposite pairs on fuzzy, branching stems that form a rounded little bush. The whole plant has a soft, plush appearance.
Flowers & Fruit
Mature plants produce bell-shaped, drooping flowers on tall stalks in spring to summer, colored orange to red-orange. The blooms hang in clusters and are also slightly fuzzy. Flowering is occasional in cultivation but distinctive when it occurs.
How to Tell It Apart from Look-Alikes
- Panda Plant (Kalanchoe tomentosa): also fuzzy, but leaves are flat ovals with brown edge spots, not chunky claw-tipped paws.
- Cotyledon orbiculata: a relative with smooth (not fuzzy) leaves and red-rimmed margins.
- Other Cotyledon species: lack the distinctive toothed claw tips.
The plump fuzzy leaves with red-toothed claw tips are unmistakable — if it looks like a tiny green paw, it's Bear's Paw.
Where You'll Find It
Native to South Africa, it's a popular indoor and dish-garden succulent worldwide. It wants bright light, gritty fast-draining soil, and careful watering — its fuzzy leaves are prone to rot if water sits on them. It's frost-tender and grown as a houseplant in cold climates.
Quick ID Checklist
- Plump, chunky fuzzy leaves
- Reddish-brown pointed 'teeth' at leaf tips
- Velvety silvery-green surface
- Leaves in opposite pairs on fuzzy stems
- Compact bushy habit
- Orange bell-shaped flowers on tall stalks (occasionally)
Frequently asked questions
Why does my bear's paw have red tips on the leaves?
The red-brown 'claws' at the leaf tips are a natural identifying feature, and they deepen in color with brighter light.
How do I tell bear's paw from the panda plant?
Bear's paw has chunky leaves with red tooth-like claws at the tips, while panda plant has flatter oval leaves with brown spots along the edges.
Why are the leaves shriveling or dropping?
Usually underwatering causes shriveling, while soft, mushy, dropping leaves point to overwatering and rot. Water only when the soil is fully dry.
Does bear's paw flower?
Mature plants can produce orange, bell-shaped drooping flowers on tall stalks in spring and summer, though blooming is occasional indoors.