The Crassula Page

Crassula ausensis ssp. ausensis  Hutchison 1952
A dwarf plant with persistent obovate to oblanceolate leaves densely packed around the stem. The leaf surface may be patterned with whitish papillae. The inflorescence is a 3 - 4 inch stem, branching near the top and bearing a compact panicle of tubular white flowers with semi-fused petals.
 
Native to the succulent Karoo and Namibia. Several sub-species of this variable plant have been described.

Crassula brevifolia  Harvey 1862
The chunky obovate leaves are densely packed on the stem in opposite pairs. The leaves have flat upper surfaces with reddened margins, rounded lower surfaces and are lightly spotted in red. Clusters of white to pale pink flowers are produced at the stem tips in Autumn.
 
A plant of the succulent Karoo from the North-Western Cape of South Africa to Namibia.

Crassula capitella  Thunberg 1771
A small rosulate plant, solitary or clumping with lanceolate leaves reddening in the sun. The inflorescence is a dense spike of tiny white flowers.
 
This variable species incorporates many names formerly recognised as separate species and has several recognised sub-species, distributed across tropical East Africa, Namibia and South Africa.

Crassula cultrata  Linneaus 1771
This branching plant grows up to 3 ft tall as an under-storey plant in thickets. The obovate leaves are spread in pairs along the red stems. The inflorescence is a dense spike of tubular cream-coloured flowers.
 
A plant of the succulent Karoo in the South African Cape.

Crassula deceptor  Schönland 1907
A dwarf columnar plant of the succulent Karoo, usually solitary or occasionally branched. The ovate-triangular grey-green leaves are tightly packed together and vary somewhat in shape.
 
Distributed in the succulent Karoo from Southern Namibia to the Northern Cape. Often associated with quartz gravel flats.

Crassula fusca  Herre 1953
Name: Latin fuscus = dull brown, dusky (referring to the anthers ?)

This Crassula forms shrublets up to 15 in tall. The ovate leaves on small plants become narrower and lanceolate as the plant grows larger and colour up red in full sun. The inflorescence is a thyrse of white to cream-coloured flowers with black anthers, produced in mid-summer.
 
Native to North-Western slopes of mountains near the mouth of the Orange River in Cape Province and into South-West Namibia.

Crassula helmsii  Cockayne 1907 (Australian Swamp Stonecrop, Pygmyweed)
This frost-hardy mat-forming Crassula is barely succulent and with insignificant white flowers has few redeeming qualities. Growing from fragments with a single node, it adapts to grow in shade or full sun in both moist soil or as free-floating mats clogging waterways. It is not difficult to find, even in some British nature reserves.
 
Native to Australia, Tasmania and New Zealand. Introduced into Great Britain in 1911, it has become naturalised in many temperate countries. Despite its invasive nature it is still sold as an oxygenating aquarium plant. It grows well outdoors in a shallow bowl without drainage.

Crassula lactea  Aiton 1789 (Taylor's Parches) Syn. Toelkenia lactea
This trailing shrubby Crassula has brown stems bearing obovate leaves with a pointed tip. The upper surface of the leaf margin is marked with tiny white dots and some plants have reddened leaf margins. The branching inflorescence consists of clusters of fragrant white starry flowers on a long stalk.
 
Native to the South African Eastern Cape, Transvaal & Natal.

Crassula lanuginosa var. lanuginosa  Harvey 1862
This protrate mat-forming plant has egg-shaped leaves covered in hairs. The leaves on the specimen illustrated are at the bottom end of the range (2 - 12 mm long) for this species and probably hairier than average, or perhaps the hairs don't grow in proportion to the leaf size.
 
Native to the Karoo of South Africa and Namibia. C. lanuginosa var. pachystemon has larger leaves.

Crassula montana ssp. quadrangularis  Tolken 1975
Syn. Crassula gillii  Schönland 1907
 
The small, square rosettes formed from obovate leaves arranged oppositely, proliferate from their base to form dense mats. The tiny white flowers are formed into a globular head.
 
Native to the Western Cape of South Africa.

Crassula multicava  Lemaire 1862 (Fairy Crassula)
Name: Latin multi = many + cava = hole, referring to many pores on the leaves.

The upper surface of the thin, rounded leaves surface is patterned with hydathodes (water absorbing or secreting pores) which allow the leaves to absorb moisture. The branching inflorescence makes a spray of tiny pale pink, star-like flowers. Small plantlets sometimes form in the flower axils.
 
Native to the Eastern Cape of South Africa, Natal and Mpumulanga. A common windowledge plant, which is readily propagated from cuttings, even single leaves or plantlets from the inflorescence.

Crassula muscosa  Linneaus 1760
The tiny leaves are densely packed around the branching stem to form a square or angular mass. In cultivation the leaves are bright green with a mossy appearance but in full sun adopt a bronze colour. Tiny white flowers are produced along the stem.
 
A variable plant, with several varieties described and more species names subsumed into those accepted. Widely distributed from the South Africa Cape to Namibia.

Crassula nudicaulis  Linnaeus 1753
A low-growing scrubby plant of variable appearance but generally only 5 in tall. The linear-obovate leaves have flattened upper surfaces, rounded undersides and may be pubescent or hairy. Margins and tips may be reddened and colour up more extensively in full sun.
Crassula nudicaulis incorporates numerous plants formerly regarded as separate species. Widely distributed in the succulent Karoo of the South African Cape, Lesotho and KwaZulu-Natal.
 
Left: Crassula nudicaulis var. herrei  Tölken 1975   is native to the Northern Cape.

Crassula orbicularis  Linnaeus 1753
Flattened green rosettes formed from obovate leaves with ciliate margins, seen on the shady North side of a small kop. The rosettes offset to form dense groups. The inflorescence, produced in winter to mid-summer, is an elongated thyrse of short, tubular cream flowers.
 
Native to the South African Cape but typically a plant of shade under scrub and thickets.

Crassula ovata  Druce 1917   (Jade Plant, Money Plant)
Syn. C. argentea, C. portulaca
 
This is probably the best known Crassula and tolerates a certain amount of neglect. Specimens are seen on window-ledges and in offices everywhere. With proper care the plant can become a large 6-8 ft shrub, with fragrant flowers during the Winter if kept just frost free. The thick stems branch sparingly at the base, but more freely as the plant matures. The brittle, jointed stems have obovate green leaves, becomming reddened in full sun. Native to the Western Cape of South Africa.

Crassula perfoliata  Linneaus 1753   Syn. Crassula falcata  Wendland 1798
A shrubby plant growing up to 2-3 ft tall. The panicle of bright red flowers contrasts splendidly with the gray-green foliage. Leaves are lanceolate to triangular-lanceolate.
 
Varieties with white and pink flowers also occur less commonly. Native to the Eastern Cape of South Africa.

Crassula perforata  Thunberg 1778
Triangular, thin gray-green leaves with reddened margins and basally-fused in pairs are spaced out along the branching stems. The plants generally scramble along the ground although young stems are upright. Roots are fibrous.
 
Distributed across the South African Cap and KwaZulu-Natal. Crassula perforata includes several former separate species.

Crassula perforata  Thunberg 1778
Syn. Crassula nealeana  Higgins 1955
 
A variety with fleshy obovate gray-green leaves, fused in pairs and arranged more closely around the stem. The inflorescence is an elongated thyrse of small tubular cream flowers with yellow stamens.
 

Crassula pyramidalis  Thunberg 1778
An upright to sprawling plant with triangular scale-like leaves tightly packed in four ranks around the stem to give an overall quadrangular, neat, almost mossy appearance. Cultivated plants are usually greener than those in habitat.
 
A plant of the succulent Karoo in the South African Cape.

Crassula pyramidalis var. scabrispina  Thunberg 1778
A sprawling plant with triangular scale-like leaves tightly packed in four ranks around the stem to give an overall quadrangular, neat, almost mossy appearance. The green plant adopts a bronze colour in full sun.
 
A plant of the succulent Karoo in the South African Cape.

Crassula rupestris  Thunberg 1778
A succulent shrub with flattened succulent leaves basally fused in pairs around the branching stem. The upper leaf surface is slightly concave with a convex underside. Leaf margins redden in full sun but otherwise leaves are grey-green.
 
Native to the Nothern Cape of South Africa into Namibia.

Crassula rupestris ssp. marneriana  Tölken 1975
Syn. Crassula marneriana  Huber & Jacobsen 1951
 
A small, prostrate variety of C. rupestris. The leaves are thicker and pairs fused into rounded discs, tightly packed around the branching stem to give an overall rounded structure. The leaf margins reddens in full sun.
 
A plant of the succulent Karroo of the Western Cape.

Crassula sarcocaulis  Ecklon & Zeyher 1837
This hardy sub-shrub has a profusion of small pink flowers during the summer. Possibly the only Crassula able to withstand the cold-wet English Winter, given a sunny position and well drained soil. It can also be treated as a bonsai and pruned to make a very nice specimen up to 12 inches tall. Any bit of stem stuck in the soil will root and grow into another plant.
 
Distributed from the Eastern Cape of South Africa to Malawi and Zimbabwe. Crassula sarcocaulis ssp. sarcocaulis grows in the Drakensberg mountains.
A white-flowered form (C. sarcocaulis alba) is in cultivation.

Crassula schimperi ssp. schimperi  Gilbert 2000
Syn. Tillea pentandra  Royle 1846
Crassula schimperi grows as a sprawling mat of succulent green stems with lanceolate leaves. The stems become brown and woody with age.
 
Widely distributed in mountains up to 13,000 ft from East Africa to Yemen, Bhutan, India, Pakistan and China.

Crassula socialis  Schönland 1929
Square rosettes, formed from four ranks of triangular leaves, proliferate at their base to form dense mats. The inflorescence is produced in the Spring to early Summer and consists of one or more rounded heads of many tiny tubular white flowers on a relatively long, branching stem.
 
Grows among rocks in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. Not cold-wet hardy but tolerates a cold dry Winter.

Crassula swaziensis  Schönland 1897
A low-growing plant with rounded flat green leaves packed around the stem, but with an open appearance. Flowers in late Summer to Autumn with rounded heads of many tiny tubular white flowers on a relatively long stem.
 
Distributed in bushveld and grassland of Zimbabwe, and North-Eastern South Africa.

Crassula tecta  Thunberg 1778
A dwarf mostly solitary succulent, occasionally branching. A small rosette is formed from ovate, grey leaves with a papillate surface. Flowers in winter with a globular cluster of small, tubular cream flowers.
 
A plant of the succulent Karoo of the Western Cape of South Africa.