Crassula

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Crassula capitella


Plant Characteristics
Lifespan: [[Lifespan::Perennial]]
Origin: S. Africa mostly
Cultivation
Exposure: Sun"Sun" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property., part-sun, Indoors"Indoors" is not in the list (sun, part-sun, shade, unknown) of allowed values for the "Exposure" property.
Water: regular"regular" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property., drought tolerant"drought tolerant" is not in the list (wet, moist, moderate, dry, less when dormant) of allowed values for the "Water" property.
Scientific Names

Crassulaceae >

Crassula >



Crassula is a large genus of plants containing many species, including the popular Jade Plant, Crassula ovata. They are native to many parts of the globe, but cultivated varieties are almost exclusively from the Eastern Cape of South Africa.

Crassulas are usually propagated by stem or leaf cuttings. Most cultivated forms will tolerate some small degree of frost, but extremes of cold or heat will cause them to lose foliage and die.


Read about Crassula in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture 

Crassula (Latin thickish; referring to the thick leaves and stems). Crassulaceae. Fleshy and leafy greenhouse shrubs or herbs, grown for the grotesque appearance of some of the kinds and also for the bloom.

Variable in habit and foliage, mostly erect; rarely annual: lvs. opposite, usually sessile and often connate, fleshy, very entire and the margins sometimes cartilaginous, glabrous or pubescent or scaly: fls. usually small, white, rose or rarely yellow, commonly in cymes but sometimes capitate, usually 5-merous; calyx 5-parted, the lobes erect or spreading; petals 5, free or joined at the base, erect or spreading; stamens 5, shorter than the petals; carpels 5, many-ovuled.— Species 150 or more, mostly in S. Afr., but a few in Abyssinia and Asia. Many species have been intro. to cult., but only a few are actually grown outside of fanciers' collections. The rocheas sometimes pass as crassulas. See Rochea.

The genus Crassula gives the name to the order Crassulaceae, which contains many cultivated succulent plants, and also others of widely different habit. The order is closely related to the Saxifragaceae, but differs in having the carpels of the ovary entirely free and equal in number to the petals, but the formspass easily into the Saxifragacea; through Francoa and Tetilla, and back again through Triactina. The genera, as usually treated, are ill defined, and certain species of Sedum cross over the lines of Crassula, Cotyledon and Sempervivum, while between Crassula and Tillaea no very clear distinction can be made.

Crassulas are greenhouse plants requiring a dry atmosphere during the resting-period. While making growth, they may be treated like other greenhouse plants in the way of watering, placing them in the lightest and airiest part of the house. The pots must be drained so that any surplus moisture will easily pass through. The soil should consist of sand, loam, broken brick, and a very small quantity of leaf-soil or thoroughly rotted cow-manure. Propagation is usually from cuttings. Some of the species, such as C. falcata, do not give much material for this purpose, and they should, therefore, be headed over and the tops put in dry sand in the spring, allowing water only when they show signs of shriveling. The cut-over plants should be encouraged to make side shoots, which may be rooted after they are large enough. (G. W. Oliver.) CH


The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.


Cultivation

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Propagation

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Pests and diseases

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Selected species

Notable cultivars

  • Crassula 'Buddha's Temple'
  • Crassula 'Coralita'
  • Crassula 'Dorothy'
  • Crassula 'Fallwood'
  • Crassula 'Ivory Pagoda'
  • Crassula 'Justus Corderoy'
  • Crassula 'Morgan's Beauty'
  • Crassula 'Tom Thumb'

SCHCH List:

  • C. atrosanguinea, Barbey. Erect, 12-20 in., rigid: st. reddish, branched at top: lvs. aloe-like, straight or recurved, glabrous, narrowed from base to apex, often 8 in. long, rosulate and on the St.: fls. darkred, in a dense terminal many-fld. cluster. Transvaal.CH
  • C. coccinea. Linn.=Rochea coccinea.CH
  • C. congesta, N. E. Br. Only 3½ in. high: lvs. thick and fleshy, ovate-lanceolate: fls. numerous, densely crowded in a sessile terminal head, the petals scarcely Min. long, white. S. Afr.CH
  • C. conjuncta, N. E. Br. Lvs. concave: fls. pure white in a compact narrow cluster. 8. Afr.CH
  • C. decipiens, N. E. Br. Dwarf tufted perennial: lvs. densely covered with blunt papillae or nipple-like projections, fleshy, oblong: fls. very small, white, in terminal 3-branched cymes. S. Afr. (?).CH
  • C. jasminea, Ker-Gawl=Rochea jasminea.CH
  • C. sedifolia, N. E. Br. Only 1-2 in. high when in bloom: lvs. in small tufts at the base and 3 or 4 pairs on the fl.-sts., bright green, ciliate, with red-brown spots along the margin: fls. white, 3-fl together in terminal cymes. S. Afr.CH
  • C. variabilis, N. E. Br. Plant 3-6 in. high, branched at base: lvs. in 4 rows, densely imbricated, ovate, small (½in. or less long), ciliate on margin: fls. white, or red outside, 5-7 in small cymes disposed in a narrow terminal panicle. S. Afr.CH

Gallery

References

External links