Crassula brevifolia

Crassula brevifolia is a succulent plant native to the arid western edge of South Africa (including the Namaqualand, as far south as Vanrhynsdorp) as well as southern Namibia.

Crassula brevifolia
The thickly-succulent leaves of Crassula brevifolia
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Eudicots
Order: Saxifragales
Family: Crassulaceae
Genus: Crassula
Species:
C. brevifolia
Binomial name
Crassula brevifolia
Harv.

Description

A small (reaching 50cm in height), branching, perennial shrub.

It has distinctively short, thickly-succulent leaves, which are roughly triangular in cross-section but with slightly rounded angles (leaf-margins). It has flaking brown bark on its thin, woody stems.

Variation

This is a very variable species, with two subspecies and many regional forms.

  • subsp. brevifolia. The type subsp. grows on exposed quartzitic or granite outcrops, from Namibia to as far south as Vanrhynsdorp. It has papillate ovaries (each with 18-24 ovules), and the leaves usually point upwards, between visible internodes.
  • subsp. psammophila. A rarer subspecies that favours flatter sands or gravels near the Orange River in the Northern Cape Province.[1]

This species is closely related to Crassula rupestris and Crassula perforata.[2]

References
  1. Toelken, H.R. (1975). A Revision of the Genus Crassula in Southern Africa. South African Journal of Botany. 8. p.424.
  2. Doreen Court (2000). Succulent Flora of Southern Africa. CRC Press. p. 105. ISBN 978-90-5809-323-3.
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